


Fine Spun Gold

by TeaBagginsFromtheOak



Series: Gold of the Mountain [1]
Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Author is Bad at Timelines, Autoerotic Asphyxiation, Bilbo Sickness!Thorin, Bilbo is a Strong Independent Hobbit Who Don't Need No King, Biting, Breathplay, Canon What Canon, Consensual Kink, Cultural Differences, Dubious Consent, Fili and Kili are Precious Change My Mind, Jirt is Dirt and I Make the Rules Now, Kinky!Thorin, Literally Fuck All With Canon, Long first chapter, M/M, Marking, Motherly Hobbit, Multiple Orgasms, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Sassy Bilbo, Smut, Thorin is a clout, Yeah bet you weren't expecting that tag, canon noncompliant, not vanilla sex, slight-BDSM
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-04
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:55:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 56,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21669340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TeaBagginsFromtheOak/pseuds/TeaBagginsFromtheOak
Summary: Dim was the sun compared to the gold. Cold was the fire that once raged against his people when looked upon with the heated glance. No wine, mead, ale, or spirit could intoxicate him like the lips that brought forth the most enthralling verses. To consume them would be a sin but to live without ever tasting them would send his spirit wandering the halls of Mahal until his creator banished him from his realms.--AU where Gold sickness is just Bilbo sicknessAKA Arkenstone who?
Relationships: Bard the Bowman/Thranduil (implied), Bilbo Baggins & Fíli & Kíli, Bilbo Baggins/Thorin Oakenshield
Series: Gold of the Mountain [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1857604
Comments: 84
Kudos: 299





	1. Fool's Gold

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys its me again your neighborhood screw up here to reel you into a story and then disappear off the face of the earth for several months while yall think I died. Who's up for some suspense. Since I know in my heart this is who I am, I will give an extra long first chapter to hopefully make up for it? Also I’m changing up the story line because fuck you that’s why. Bilbo has a plus 10 charisma because he’s just so dang cute. Also if I leave some parts it literally because they just my least favorite part to write about, so tedious and if any of you are new to this fandom and this is your first encounter then god help your soul. Please read any fix-it fic to get the gist as to what it is I am refusing to write about. This chapter albeit long with be mainly rated...T unless ya'll get some certain feelings about it which way, the rest will DEF be M

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey my friend Pyre made some lovely artwork for this first chapter you should totally go check it out here. I tried hyperlink but it didn't work so you gotta copy and past yourself sorry I'm a screw up. https://tookofabaggins.tumblr.com/post/640148409701023744/he-set-bilbo-down-on-the-pile-of-gold-where

Bilbo hadn’t noticed a change at first. The moment on the Carrock notwithstanding, but ultimately the glances were much the same as they had always been and the proximity had been chalked up to happenstance of company positioning rather than anything particular outstanding. Beorn’s home had been a reprieve from the running and fighting and it had given them all a moment’s breath to catch their own. If any dwarf in particular had stood out to Bilbo’s hazed bliss at having a warm place to lay and enough food to sate the appetite he had acquired during the entirety of their trip. Nothing was to be said if each night a new bed mate would find themselves near the hobbit only to be glared away without the halfling’s notice. The closest anyone got was Fili and Kili, even then despite falling asleep entwined with either of them Bilbo would wake up with either of them pulled from their spots near him. Bilbo assumed that their tossing and turning had shifted all of their bedrolls amidst their slumber. If a piercing set of blue eyes had any say in that movement then he was none the wiser. At Lake town the company was rather caught up in the proximity of the mountain, the approval of their quest from the Master, and the overall abundance of food, ale, and beds had them particularly apparent in their gestures of familiarity, from singing and dancing to uncomfortable proximities, and this being noted from a standpoint that they once all shared a cave for a short while where many a feet were placed on a few single bed rolls, occupants apparent discomfort or not. By the end of the festivities not a dwarf was to be found hanging off one another, save for Bilbo himself and a particularly sober king under the mountain.

While no one had been particularly avoidant of Bilbo, he couldn’t help but notice once friendly gestures were far and few between on that night, Bofur’s typically amicable reproaches were distanced and kept to only verbal embraces. Bilbo simply brushed the entirety of the situation to nerves at the next plight the hobbit would face upon entering the mountain. What with the threat of Bilbo not making it out alive given the high probability of a sleeping dragon still residing amongst the mounds of gold within the mountain. Bilbo, unconcerned at the moment with potential incineration as he was presented with another platter – shockingly the human town didn’t have anything even remotely hobbit sized least of all dishes – of au gratin potatoes and spiced chicken. Bilbo’s mouth watered as he started to cut into the crispy skin and the smell of the fire lingering around him. He began to eat with a veracity that would have his father rolling in his grave, but he was sure that he would make an exception given the restricted diet he had been forced on the road.

The sounds of party continued on around him, but he was content to eat and watch as the dwarves made fools of themselves like fauntlings as if they weren’t hundreds of years his senior. As his eyes scanned the dining hall, they managed to land on the leader of the group. He was sans any mug of ale, no doubt not willing to sully his reclaiming of Erebor with a hangover. The other’s either doubted the amount of ale they consumed or overestimated their tolerance for such a thing. Bilbo couldn’t fault them all too much as he did much the same, but with the dinner they had been provided. When Bilbo tried to catch Thorin’s eyes again he was missing from his spot against the wall. Bilbo didn’t let the thought of the intimidating dwarf with unclear motives towards his own being weigh him down too much as he saw across the way that Fili and Kili had procured a dessert of some kind and were drunkenly flaunting it like a shot stag rather than that of a potentially creamy base.

Bilbo moved to sneak a piece from the boys, but as he was about to stand the seat next to him became occupied, startling him into sitting back down.

“Bilbo.” The dwarf seemed to vibrate with tension, but the source Bilbo was unsure.

“Thorin, wh-“ Before much else could be said Fili and Kili squeezed in reeking of ale and each had cream and crumbs covering their faces. “Do tell me you didn’t eat all of that dessert?”

“And not save any for our favorite hobbit?” Fili squeezed in the now unoccupied seat where Thorin once sat – how quickly that dwarf made himself vacant was astounding to Bilbo in the chaos that was the party around them – and Kili coming around behind Bilbo, stealing the chair just as Bofur was to sit on it. The dwarf toppled under the table and didn’t return. Bilbo hummed at the idea of him being left behind because he got a tragic head injury from the oblivious princes and Bofur’s own copious drinking.

“I am the only hobbit you know.” They laughed at that.

“Wasn’t there that one that helped us when we nearly made the wrong turn in the Shire?” Kili snickered. “Prudefeet?” Bilbo rolled his eyes.

“Not nearly as funny as you two think you are.” As he turned to Fili a piece of the delicious cake was presented under his nose. Just as he went to grab it another piece appeared, this one with a bite out of it but otherwise untouched. Bilbo smiled broadly and quickly swiped either from the boys.

“Told you we saved you some.” Fili swiped a finger through the filling on the piece that hadn’t been bit by his brother. Bilbo half heartedly smacked his hand, but was more occupied with eating them.

“You know you didn’t have to kick your uncle out of his awarded seat like you did.” Bilbo took a few bites before speaking again. “He could have gotten lost from that side of the room to this one.” The boy’s riotous laughter nearly deafened him as their drunken stupor had made them unresponsive to the proper space allotted between people that was considered respectable. Another sound made itself known below Bilbo and he was relieved to hear that Bofur wasn’t in fact dead.

“He’s just sore’s all.” Kili began to slur something fierce. “S’not eve’day that cutes hobbits saves’im.” He giggled, resting his forehead on Bilbo’s temple.

“I resent that remark. I’m not _cute_.” It was like the alcohol only reacted to stationary beings as both of them became nearly unbearably close, between their swaying and slurring he was sure he would get motion sick from watching them. Bilbo made quick work of the desserts and leaned back in his chair, without alerting the dwarf on his left of his departure, thus causing Kili to fall directly in his lap. His face flushed as the boy laughed in his lap and his brother joined him in laughter as he followed suit to inspect his brother. Two dwarves in his lap was two dwarves too many. His face lit up as red as Bombur’s hair and he immediately pushed his chair back sending both brothers tumbling to the floor. He barely saved his toes from being crushed by their inebriated tumble. He grabbed Bofur’s pipe, earning a sharp smack on his leg, but otherwise was not hindered in his action. Having had enough of the buffoonery that had descended on the son’s of Durin Bilbo made his way to balcony. The cool night air reminding him of his lack of coat. He borrowed a candle and lit the pipe, there was very little pipe weed left, but he would make good use of it. The pipe itself tasted of alcohol and Bilbo resisted his urge to wash it, wasting the little pipe weed left.

The hobbit looked on the mountain with reverie. The moon nigh high enough to penetrate its light through the hulking mass. Bilbo leaned over the railing, taking in the dampened sound of the party behind him and keeping his mind from wandering to the potential dragon in the mound of gold that reside but not a few miles ahead. Instead his mind wandered to the warmth of Beorn’s home and the blood thickening food that was provided.

_The first night was weary as the company slept with one eye open, unsure of their host. While a watch wasn’t posted, none of them were brave enough to fully lose themselves in slumber. In favor of sleeping, he and Bofur had spent the night speaking in hushed whispers. Commenting on their travels so far and Bofur regaling about Erebor, while he wasn’t originally from Erebor, a dwarfs a dwarfs a dwarf. Bilbo eventually found his words to slur and Bofur went longer and longer between pauses as his eyes stuttered close one too many times to continue. Somewhere a small light went up, but Bilbo didn’t see it as his back was to the rest of the company. The cherry glowing bright under equally bright blue eyes in the dark._

_When morning rose and Gandalf gathered them around the table to approach their enormous host Bilbo couldn’t help but notice the proximity of Thorin, the dwarf never farther than arm’s reach from the hobbit. The hobbit in question unsure of whether the behavior was of his nervousness at losing the hobbit again or of suspicion that he might get carried off by one of the massive bees that flittered to and fro the great skin-changer’s home. Bilbo ignored most of it as it didn’t seem outright hostile. While they rode through the forest to Mirkwood he was constantly flanked by Fili and Kili. Except for the moments when he lagged with his pony to ease his legs and bottom from so long without a mount. Then he was joined by Bofur, but it was always short lived as Thorin would move from the back of the caravan, stopping briefly to break up Bofur and Bilbo on his way to the front to speak with Gandalf, if he said or glared at Bofur whilst doing so Bilbo had no idea as the king always made sure he was neither heard nor seen doing so. After Bofur would join his brother and cousin and the cycle would repeat as Fili and Kili fell back to speak with the lonely hobbit._

_Once in the Mirkwood forest they traveled as best as they could as the forest began to creep its sickness into their own minds. Dwalin and Balin getting lost themselves several times as the path seemed to mirage itself to and fro. Bilbo could feel a heaviness in his body and his mind the longer he was forest. He tried to lead the group to the path several times, but was ignored. Everyone snapping at each other causing the tension to make Bilbo’s eyes leak down his face. He shook his head to clear his mind of the image, but the darkness of the forest had a strong grip on his psyche. Realizing that he could no longer reason with the dwarves he began to climb the nearest tree. He reached the top, webs clinging to his feet and hair, but he reached the top nonetheless. The fresh air cleared his mind and he began to search for the way down. When he looked down to tell his companions they were nowhere to be seen. And thus began their adventure to the cells of Mirkwood Kingdom._

_Bilbo disliked the magic ring for as helpful as it was. The feeling of dread was something he couldn’t shake even after taking the ring off and it often left a sour taste in his mouth, like metal or blood. He would be damned if after this adventure he ever used the damned thing again. But looking upon the dwarf king in the dank cells of Mirkwood had been enough to use the blasted thing for the sake of rescue. Bilbo watched as Thorin denied the deal Thranduil proposed and sighed to himself. The guards hauled him off and Bilbo watched from his hidden spot in the hall as Thorin was taken from the Thranduil’s halls. Bilbo waited until Thranduil had dismissed his remaining company and sat upon the throne with an age he hadn’t expected to see from the immortal creature. Bilbo removed the ring and stepped into the center of the hall. His heart hammered in his chest. He wasn’t sure who was the more foolish of the two he or Thorin._

_In that moment he had a sword to his throat and it took every nerve in his body to stay still. The blonde that had been posted at his side – Legolas, he remembered – had moved almost as silently as Bilbo had._

_“Who dares approach the king?” Bilbo reaches up with a bravado he didn’t know he possessed, but he assumed this would be easier then taking on a warg and its pale rider. He pushed the blade from his neck with a surety that no doubt baffled the elf as he didn’t resist the movement._

_“As a prince I would have assumed that you knew your manners when it came to royalty.” Bilbo’s voice didn’t waver despite his fear the gripped at his ribs and nearly halted his breathing._

_“Royalty?” Thranduil turned to him. He made a movement to Legolas and the elf relaxed off of Bilbo, but stayed tense as he walked next to his father. “And what royalty would you hail, little dwarf?” Bilbo held his tongue on the dwarf remark._

_“I am a hobbit and Thain of the Shire.” He watched as Thranduil raised a perfectly carved eyebrow._

_“Hobbit?” His voice trailed off in thought. “What business does a Hobbit have this far east? And with a pack of dwarves none the less?” Bilbo watched as the king stepped down from his throne to begin to look at the small creature._

_“That’s my business, woodland king,” Bilbo steeled himself as Thranduil strode closer. “Can’t have everyone knowing the business of the Shire, less the illusion of the peaceful hobbits be tarnished.” Thranduil seemed to find that funny as one eyebrow raised and he gave a bare grin._

_“How did you come to slip past my guards?” Thranduil looked much more amused than potentially hostile. His son could not say the same, but Bilbo could sense a curiosity about him._

_“Hobbits are easily passed off as children. As is the curse of the race.” Thranduil showed a bit of teeth this time. “As for my dwarves, I need them back as they are my escorts east.” Thranduil stopped smiling, but didn’t become angered._

_“A king resides amongst your troupe.” Bilbo nodded._

_“I had my suspicions, royalty recognizes royalty after all.” Bilbo clasped his hands behind his back. “I was traveling with a wizard as well, but you know of the wanderings of wizards.” Thranduil narrowed his eyes at that._

_“I do all too well.” He turned to sit back on his throne._

_“I originally came bearing a letter asking permission to travel through your lands, but my venture has not been so kind.” He motioned to his tattered clothes and overall grungy appearance. Thranduil seemed to take this into consideration. “The world is no longer a safe place to travel freely.” Thranduil seemed to deflate at the comment, no doubt remising about the spiders and sickness that plagues his forest._

_“Your escort doesn’t seem to be very good if you have found yourself in such a predicament.” Bilbo sighed. He was beginning to believe himself as he eased his shoulders to the question._

_“Alas this be the last time I hire vagabond dwarves for such a travel. And they came so highly recommended.” Bilbo tilted his head. “Maybe next time I could acquire some of your elves for the venture?” Thranduil chuckled slightly. “All being said I did pay them for job and I intend to get my money’s worth.” Thranduil regarded the hobbit. “I trust that my escorts were not too terribly harmed after you rescued them and myself from those frightful spiders?” Bilbo was testing his luck, but he would hope that in the end it would be a better alternative._

_Thranduil looked at Legolas. The young prince remained stoic as ever. “If a rescue was what we had intended maybe.” Thranduil seemed hesitant to agree to the statement._

_“Nevertheless I thank you for your generosity and only wish to continue on my business, all dwarf escorts accounted for.” To punctuate the sentence Bilbo bowed lowly for two breaths before meeting the king’s eyes. There was a silence for many heartbeats before he began to speak._

_“I have qualms with your company, but I can’t see a reason to hinder a neutral royal party from doing business outside my realm.” Thranduil dipped his head in response to Bilbo’s bow. “I will release your dwarves to you and escort you to the edge of my realm so as a promise from you that no disturbance take place.” Bilbo felt his heart stop, but he pressed on._

_“Oh king Thranduil, your generosity is great and your mercy is bountiful, but may I ask for one last favor before this hobbit desists from your kingdom?” Thranduil narrowed his eyes, but there was a slackness to his face._

_“You may ask, but I may decline.”_

_“As to be expected from such graceful king and ruler of his people. May I ask that we stay a night to rest and gather ourselves to plan for the last portion of our venture.” Bilbo had no doubt it was a risky request, but asking never hurt anyone._

_“You are a strange creature indeed.” Thranduil put his head on his fist. “As I wish to rid my hands of these dwarves, you have shown a competence I have not seen for decades. I will grant you one night to ready yourselves before I send you off.” Bilbo bowed once again, this time nearly reaching his toes. Really had been hoping for at least a bath._

_“May a thousand blessings grace your kingdom for your kindness King Thranduil, and if you find yourself west that the Shire will welcome you with the same kindness you have shown myself and my company.” Thranduil had a gleam in his eyes, but otherwise said nothing to the remark._

_“I will allow the dwarves to be taken to guest rooms for the night being. But understand one thing Thain of the Shire, one step out of line and I will have them locked up and your venture will end here.” Bilbo nodded, not reflecting his fear in his gulp._

_“Understood with the utmost clarity, king Thranduil.” Bilbo held his head high. That would potentially be the harder part of the charade than speaking with Thranduil._

_“I’ll send you to your dwarves where you all will be sent to your rooms for the night.” Bilbo nodded curtly. “But Thain, join me for dinner once you have checked on your dwarves.” Bilbo felt his blood grow cold, but he only gave another nod._

_“A request that would be foolish to surpass. It would honor me to reside at your table.” Thranduil gave a small nod and a hidden smile. Bilbo sent himself off, a guard meeting him at the door to guide him to the cells. He stayed silent the entire way down and stepped in front of the guard as he held the door open to him leading to the dungeon. Bilbo tried to hide his rush as he nearly slipped down the stairs. Thorin was the first cell, thankfully. The rest hadn’t yet realized it was him as he beckoned the exiled king forward to the bars. He heard the elf guard come up behind him._

_“Bilbo.” Thorin’s voice came quietly, but the rest had managed to hear him and began to cheer, but the happiness was cut short as they saw the guard coming down the stairs. They began to yell and curse at the guard._

_“Tell them to desist and follow my lead.” Bilbo hissed through the bars. The king wasted no time in yelling Khuzdul at the group and they silenced immediately. Bilbo stepped out of the way of the guard as he let Thorin out of the cell and removed his manacles. Thorin was silent as he stood in front of Bilbo. Bilbo made sure to try to hold himself up in a most respectable manner. They stared at each other in silence as the rest of the company was relieved of their shackles. Once he was sure that everyone was freed, Bilbo turned on his heel and led them upwards the stairs with the guard picking up the rear. Another guard was at the top of the stairs awaiting their departure to escort them to their rooms. The company was eerily silent, but given the circumstances Bilbo was alright with their compliance. After a series of twists and turns they arrived at a set doors. The guards held open the first one and half of them piled into the room._

_“If you’d be so kind, I’d like to speak with my escorts privately in light of recent events. I will make sure everyone is set up in their appropriate rooms shortly.” Bilbo stood his ground as the other half of the company stood behind him. The guards shared a look, but said nothing as they walked their ways down the hallway, leaving Bilbo alone with his dumbfounded compatriots. In due course the ones behind him shoved him roughly in the room and the ones in the room reaching out to grab the hobbit. Shortly after they were all in and the doors were closed, questions began to flood in. Bilbo held up his hands to silence them. They were instantly quieted. Bilbo walked over to Nori and whispered in his ear. Nori began a sweep of the room. While Nori was doing so, Bilbo went around looking for a quill and paper. Picking up on his search, Ori produced his needed supplies. He began to write furiously, explaining as best he could what had transpired. Everyone desperately trying to read over his shoulder. After Bilbo was done he left the piece of paper on the table and looked around for Nori. He was amongst the group reading but made a motion that Bilbo could only indicate as an all clear._

_“I suspect my escorts to be the most upstanding citizens whilst I attend dinner with king Thranduil. It is what I paid you all for.” If Bilbo said that a little loudly, no one said anything. Once everyone had read the document he walked over to the hearth where a small fire was blazing and stuck the paper in the flames. He took the poker and made sure the note was all good and burnt. Bilbo turned around in time to be greeted by large arms and a solid body. Bilbo resisted the urge to groan as the movement knocked the wind out of him._

_“You never cease to amaze me, Hobbit.” Thorin breathed into his hair. Soon everyone had joined in to congratulate in Bilbo’s quick thinking._

“Bilbo.” The hobbit in question was brought back into reality as his cherry had gone out and he could barely feel his fingers against the railing. He straightened and attempted to hide how numb his fingers felt.

“That’d be me.” Bilbo turned, putting his mouth on the pipe, more in a familiar movement rather than that to smoke out of. Thorin leaned next to him, smoking on his own pipe. “I’m sorry, did you need something from me?” Thorin looked sidelong at him with a raised eyebrow.

“I’ve been standing here for well over five minutes and you’ve just acknowledged my existence.” Bilbo was glad it was dark so his blush could be hidden. That secret was for him and the stars.

“Hm, yes, just a bit…” Bilbo forgot his pipe was out as he pulled a breath and was met with stale pipe weed. He discretely coughed as he turned back to the railing. “Wandering mind.” Thorin didn’t make a noise if he noticed Bilbo’s awkward exchange. Bilbo silently chewed on the pipe stem.

“Is to be expected.” Thorin took a long drag of his pipe and before he exhaled he passed it in front of Bilbo. Bilbo stared at it slack-jawed, Bofur’s own pipe hanging on by tendril of spit. Bilbo took it out of his mouth and grabbed Thorin’s. He tried to ignore the fact that Thorin’s own mouth was only on the stem near moments ago and took a puff of the pipe. He handed it back to Thorin, his blush not halting as he readily accepted and placed it back in his mouth. Bilbo cleared out Bofur’s pipe, dumping the contents over the railing, beating it carefully with the palm of his hand. He pocketed it since there was no use for it any longer.

“Did you require something from me?” Bilbo said in a small voice, he didn’t trust himself not to stutter as he glance briefly at Thorin. Thorin took another drag of his pipe and handed the pipe to Bilbo, and thus began the small routine. As they talked they passed the pipe back and forth, Bilbo’s heart stuttering each time no matter how many passes back and forth it went between them.

“Nothing in particular comes to mind.” Thorin seemed to draw out the sentence as if he knew something that Bilbo didn’t. Bilbo didn’t particularly care for what he may be implying, but that didn’t stop him from accepting the pipe from him.

“Then you come out to interrupt my musings for…a smoke?” Bilbo tempted. He took a deep breath as he waited for Thorin’s response. He was lost once again to his thoughts as his tongue darted out to taste the stem of the pipe resting there. Unaware of his intentions as he kept the pipe fastened between his lips. He took deep, slow breaths as he waited again for Thorin to speak.

“Burglar, my pipe?” Thorin seemed to have moved closer to Bilbo as he made his request. Bilbo for his sake couldn’t blush any more than he already was. Bilbo nearly dropped the pipe as he pulled it from his lips, he could feel even more blood rush to his face as a small strand of spit was still attached when he handed it back to Thorin. He wanted to jump the railing and let the cool water carry him to the bottom of the lake, the only thing left of him was a steaming spot on the lake as he no doubt left a trail of heat in his wake. Thorin didn’t say anything if he did in fact notice, something Bilbo relished in the slight oversight. “I didn’t want you wandering off and getting crowned even more royal than I before the end of this trip.” Bilbo turned his face away, burying it into his bicep to hide his expression.

“Oh dear, don’t feel so bad, Thain’s actually my grandfather.” Bilbo muttered around his sleeve. He didn’t see the small smile Thorin gave him.

“Peace, Master Burglar.” Thorin muttered, his own mouth full of smoke, making his voice unbearably deep. Bilbo raised his face and dared a glance at Thorin, he only gave him a brief glance out of the corner of his eye. “Are you cold, burglar?” Bilbo shook his head.

“No in fact I’m quite hot, but I better return this to Bofur before he thinks I absconded with it all the way back to the Shire.” Bilbo hurriedly rushed through the sentence as he stumbled behind him and darted back through the doors, leaving a dark figure and a conspicuous smoke trail behind him. Upon entering the room everyone sent up a quick cheer and went back to drinking. Bilbo went back around the table to see Bofur still sprawled underneath the table, snoring amongst the cacophony of other noises. He easily slipped the pipe back into Bofur’s pocket but upon the movement Bofur grabbed at his arm and dragged him down with him, cradling the hobbit’s arm against his chest as he slept in. Bilbo now stuck in an awkward position, his arse straight in the air and his arm stuck to an unconscious dwarf. These dwarves would be the death of him even if he never set foot in the mountain. Bilbo groaned and looked around for something. Balin must have sense his distress as he walked over to Bilbo. He wasn’t stumbling, but his face was flushed from the drink nonetheless.

Bilbo gave the old dwarf an embarrassed smile, but was only returned with a kind one. Balin reached down and grabbed a small braid of Bofur’s. He used it to tickle the dwarf’s nose and soon enough Bofur was swatting at the nuisance and relieving Bilbo of his toy maker burden. Bilbo thanked Balin, but the old dwarf just shrugged him off and went back to sitting next to his brother by the window. Bilbo grabbed a few more crackers with cheese and ate them on his way to his room. He pushed his way through the few men milling about in the hallway and slipped into his room. He finished his last cracker and fell face first onto the bed. If he were the same hobbit that left on this journey he might be ashamed at the way he didn’t even divest himself of his clothes before falling onto the bed, but alas he was not and the call of comfort was much more enthralling than the thought of dirtying the sheets. Bilbo would see to it that his manners were restored upon returning to the Shire.

xXx

The boat they were given to traverse Laketown to Erebor was nigh big enough to hold all thirteen of them. It swayed a great deal as the dwarves packed in with their added weight of the armor procured by the Master of Laketown. Bilbo held onto the helmet more as a caution than for any use to defend his skull. He hadn’t had any ale last night, but he was still effected by the movements of the boat. He had no doubt the rest such as Bofur, Dwalin, Nori, and Fili and Kili were feeling the repercussions of their obsessive drinking as they rowed their way to the desolation between Erebor and Dale. He had never seen a dwarf so pale as to the way Kili was hugging his oar, he half expected Thorin to chastise him that he need be more attentive with his ale consumption and to not sick on his boots. But the king was silent save for the occasional grunts from rowing. No one was willing to give Bilbo an oar, which part of him was grateful, but he didn’t like the feeling of being unburdened amongst the group. Instead he looked into the dark, dirty water of the lake. For all of its filth it calmed his ills.

Before too long they reached land and had left a majority of their acquired armor on the boat, only keeping their weapons with them as they began their trek to the base of the mountain. As the sun cleared the mountain, the heat and the walking began beating down on everyone’s back. Bilbo wiped sweat from his forehead as he looked up to the mountain. It hadn’t moved in their journey, or so it felt like as the path seemed to only grow longer the more they walked. Bilbo noticed how Kili had his eyes nearly closed from the glaring sun and Fili was very close behind him as he would misstep more than was appropriate. Bilbo held back to them, unaware of the stare that followed him as he stood there waiting for the boys to catch up. Once they passed him, Bilbo hustled right next to Kili.

“Kili, boy.” The prince stopped at his namesake. “Here.” Bilbo got in front of Kili. He wrapped a cloth around his head, pulling his hair behind him, and tied it under his chin. Once it was tied he pulled it down until the excess covered over Kili’s eyes. “How’s that, Kee?” He looked under the wrap at Kili’s eyes. They still looked sick, but they sparkled back at him.

“Thank you very much, Bilbo.” His voice was quiet when he responded. Bilbo nodded and turned around to catch up to the group. They hadn’t gone far, stopping just a few paces ahead. Bilbo flushed at the idea that they waited for him and the princes. Thorin was standing on a large rock, looking down at them, his countenance unreadable. When Bilbo turned, the king made a motion with his head and the troupe continued on.

It was just before sunset when they reached the gates. After a moment to get water and rest their feet, all of the dwarves began to search for the stair case towards the secret entrance. After an hour and the sun setting quickly they had found no such staircase. While Bilbo was admiring the statues, he tripped over a rock underfoot. Arms were around him before he could fall to the ground. Thorin was next to him, his arms around his chest and shoulders. Bilbo pushed his hair back from his eyes, looking up at the king,

“Than- There!” Bilbo pointed to the stairs before them. From this angle he could see the steps carved from the mountain. Everyone cheered as they saw their entrance.

“You have good eyes, Master Baggins.” Thorin said so softly, that he barely heard him. He was righted and then gently coaxed up to the stairs. Everyone had already started the climb, leaving Thorin and Bilbo at the bottom. After a moment, Thorin had Bilbo go up before him. Bilbo hid the way everything under his collar got suddenly hot and it wasn’t from the sun at his back. Bilbo began the climb easily enough. He could see the dwarves above him scrambling on to the top, a shower of dust and rocks falling in his hair occasionally. Halfway up Ori kicked up a large sum of dirt from his step which showered promptly in Bilbo’s face. He stopped for a moment before unbeknownst to him his body let out a violent sneeze, knocking him off his balance on the step and feeling air behind him as he fell. Before he even watched as his very first memories flash before his eyes he collided with a very solid body. Thorin grunted as he too was pressed into the side of the mountain by Bilbo’s falling figure. Bilbo felt Thorin’s arms like steel around his waist. A few cries sounded from above them as they noticed their fourteenth member of their group nearly smash himself on the ground below.

“I’m sorry Master Baggins!” Ori called down above him. He looked like he was nearly ready to run back down the steps to check on Bilbo, but he waved his hand at them and they all stopped jeering, but didn’t proceed upwards until their littlest member was safely secured on the steps.

“If I had known you’d make a habit out of this I would have worn more armor.” Thorin groaned behind him, Bilbo’s weight pressing him against the jagged edges of the mountain. Bilbo for good measure, sneezed again. Bilbo heard Bofur let out a large guffaw before the rest of them joined in.

“I assure you this is all unintended.” Bilbo was released from Thorin’s iron grip and continued his way up the mountain. The rest of way passed without incident, except for a brief shuffle of bodies as Bilbo was passed to the middle of the group between Dori and Dwalin should he attempt to jump from the stairs again. He grumbled that it was entirely reactionary as he followed the hulking captain of the guard. Finally they reached the top and Thorin made his way to the head of the group as Nori began to search for the door. The tension was rising as the sun set. Yelling and curses and clanging of metal on stone rang through the mountain. But to no avail as the door did not appear and the group was defeated. The heartbreak in Thorin’s voice nearly brought Bilbo to tears. This couldn’t be it.

Bilbo watched as Thorin dropped the key and started for the stairs, he barely noticed as he began to wrack his brain for any clue they might have missed. He reached down on the ground to grab the dropped key. He held it in his hand and watched as the moonlight lit up his palm and he gasped at the realization.

“Thorin! It’s moonlight!” He called he stared at the thrush as it began to tap in earnest against the stone. Bilbo watched the door appear, while he may have had a magic ring, seeing the door carve itself into the mountain was something else entirely. “Thorin!” Bilbo yelled without looking behind him, watching the door for fear that if he looked away it would disappear. Daring to turn around he ran directly into Thorin, dropping the key. He rubbed his nose as Thorin caught the key with his boot and picked it off the ground. Fili and Kili came up beside Bilbo, Kili handing Bilbo his cloth back. They tried to stifle their laughter that their burglar had an incompetent habit of bumping, running, or falling into their uncle. He glared at them halfheartedly. Bilbo turned and watched as Thorin inserted the key and opened the door to the lost kingdom of Erebor.

A blast of air swept through the group as the door creaked open.

Fili and Kili both sneezed.

“Ha!”

xXx

If Bilbo ever survived this he was sure to never let those dwarves forget it. The cool chafe of the gold against his feet made his skin crawl. He climbed the massive pile of gold grumbling to himself.

 _Just pop down and get the Arkenstone laddie, hardie hardie har. Tis’ but a jolly pop down to a bit of a mountain to search for a great big ROCK! Oh by the way don’t wake the dragon. Blasted thing should be dead, but who knows. This is what you get for following an entourage of dwarves without consulting his big brain first. Pity a Took who ever pined after any other than a hobbit._ Bilbo picked his way through the massive pile of gold looking for something that resembled something that belonged above the head of a king. So far the only thing Bilbo thought belongs atop the head of the king was a wallop. When Bilbo got back to his home in Bag End he would surely leave out the part where he spent the _entirety_ of the trip unawares of what it was he was actually hired to do all because _one_ stupid, stink-eyed, petulant, ill-begotten, old, foul mouthed dwarf happened to sing a mighty fine song. Fool of a Took if he ever was one. His father was no doubt rolling in his grave as he sat amongst the massive pile of gold, he wouldn’t be surprised if his father had buried his grave deeper at the rate Bilbo was putting the shame to his father’s good Baggins name.

Suddenly the gold shifted in a way that Bilbo didn’t recognize and he stilled in fear. His internal monologue halted for the time being. He scrambled to hide behind a large pillar that had been mostly knocked down from the destruction of Smaug. Bilbo nearly forgot about the dragon in his ramblings. He slipped on the ring as he heard more of the coins trickling down into the pile. Bilbo felt his heart stutter in his chest. The sound was getting louder and now contained a rumbling that was growing in volume.

“I can smell you thief.” Smaug growled over him. “But I cannot see you.” Bilbo nodded even though he was invisible. _And you won’t if I have anything to say about it_. Bilbo could feel the room around him begin to shake and watched as Smaug began to sweep his massive head in Bilbo’s general direction. Bilbo waited until the coins began to shift before he made his move. He ran as fast as he could down the slope, eventually just doing a controlled slide on the gems and gold as they fell down the massive mound of treasure.

“Where are you little creature?” Smaug almost sounded amused, but Bilbo wouldn’t give in to the dragon magic that had its hold over the entire mountain. “You smell so unfamiliar to me. Where do you hail?” Bilbo watched as the massive dragon blew steam out of his nose and nearly caught Bilbo as he continued to move through the mountain. As he hid behind broken hallway he saw something glitter out of the corner of his eye, which was saying a lot given that the whole room glittered like one of Gandalf’s fireworks. He stared at it for a long moment before he realized that had to be the Arkenstone. He worried that he would not get another chance as the gold started to shift again and a large platter, the size of his dinner table at home skidded past him. He took the chance and jumped on it. He tried his best to steer the thing, but it wasn’t as if it was a pony, but he managed to get close enough to the Arkenstone to snag it. In his stretch to grab the damned stone he fell of his borrowed sled and landed on his back on one of the walkways with an awful thud. The air in his lungs escaped his body and he gasped involuntarily. Smaug turned on him.

“Creature! Show yourself!” He began to wail and spit flames out of his mouth as his turned his head to the ceiling making flames lick at the roof above them, leaving chard marks on the stone. Bilbo couldn’t afford to lay on the walkway as he tried to gather his breath, so he pocketed the stone, and with pain in his lungs he began to run down the walkway. Once he thought for sure he was out of reach of the dragon did he take off the ring. He stopped to finally catch his breath. His throat felt like gravel and he was sure he was coughing blood. He heard footsteps come from around the corner and he was soon graced with the sight of Thorin. Bilbo could barely speak when another earth moving shake rattled the mountain. Thorin looked at Bilbo, his face going through several emotions before he looked from Bilbo to the gold back to Bilbo. Someone Bilbo didn’t know stood in front of him. Someone who couldn’t see the dragon amongst the gold. Bilbo felt the weight of the Arkenstone more than he had felt the weight of the lie he was about to tell Thorin.

“Bilbo.” His voice sounded as if someone else was speaking it from far away. “Did you find the Arkenstone?” Bilbo would have knocked some sense into the dwarf were a dragon not at his back and a blade to his front.

“I did not, now if you’d be so kind as to move, there’s a dragon that doesn’t take too kindly to being disturbed, you thick-skulled dwarf!” Bilbo lashed out as best he could, his voice raw from running, if anything it proved his point further, for Thorin finally turned to see the dragon in question scanning through the gold. The rest of the dwarves came rushing in, surrounding themselves around Bilbo. The dragon turned to them, seeing the dwarves for the first time. When they all made eye contact the dwarves began to scream in earnest at the dragon. Bilbo would have rolled his eyes had this been any other time, but alas this was not the moment. He grabbed the two nearest to him and dragged them down the hallway.

“You fools, you can’t outrun fire!” Bilbo didn’t think any of these dwarves had enough sensibility to rub together to make a spark let alone kill a dragon. The rest took the hint and dove down the corridor.

And thus began their dire attempt to take on a dragon as twelve dwarves and one hobbit.

xXx

Bilbo watched as the great fire drake was brought down by the black arrow. He clawed and scratched as the arrow stuck neatly under his scales. He fell with a great splash into the lake and he was sure he would get sprayed from his position outside of Erebor. Bilbo cheered and stood to his feet to tell the rest of the company. They had seen the same scene transpire before them and reveled in the victory, but the sound was almost hollow. Bilbo feared for the health of his fellow company. He didn’t know if what had shifted Thorin’s behavior was contagious to the rest of the dwarves. Bilbo thought back to Mirkwood forest and shuddered at the thought of not only dealing with the king in a state of ill mind, but alas the entire company. Bilbo toyed with the acorn in his pocket in a grounding measure. Gold couldn’t dare to compare to the feel of fresh tilled earth or to the smell of fresh tomatoes from the vine. Bilbo was nearly drooling at the idea. He was so caught up in his own thoughts that he hadn’t seen the rest of the company head inside. He could hear Thorin bellow within the mountain to begin looking for the Arkenstone. Bilbo sighed. _They hadn’t even had a meal in what felt like ages._ He walked back into the mountain only to be startled by someone standing in the hallway.

“Burglar, it is unsafe outside.” Thorin’s eyes lit up in the dark the same way the dragon’s did no more than a half day ago. Bilbo begged to differ with that statement, but he was still processing this hold that the gold had on Thorin. He didn’t know how this Thorin would react to the defiant hobbit he had become. He nodded mutely and walked into the hallway, past Thorin. The king didn’t say another word as he shut the hidden door and Bilbo resisted the urge to shudder at the sound. He wouldn’t let what was happening to Thorin happen to him or the rest of the company. Bilbo walked the rest of the way down the stairs contemplating the past events.

“I suggest you rest. Now before we begin search for the Arkenstone.” Bilbo nodded again as Thorin made his declaration at the foot of the stairs, where not only a few hours ago had he been sent to wake the dragon and retrieve said stone.

“Thorin we all need rest.” He attempted to add his two cents to the one-sided conversation so far. He looked up at the bottom of the stairs at a dwarf he did not share a pipe with in Laketown. Something rotten had settled over him.

“Dwarves are hardier. We will endure.” Came his hollow response. Bilbo scowled, but turned on his heel and nearly ran down the stairs. He had to find someone to try and talk some sense into the stubborn oaf.

xXx

The men were at the gates. While half of the company searched for the Arkenstone, the other half had built up the repairs for the front gates. Bilbo was caught between the two, but mainly just avoiding anymore run ins with Thorin. The other dwarves didn’t seem to be all that much bothered by the gold down in the treasury or the great pull of the Arkenstone. He could see their half hearted attempts to search for the Arkenstone. While they had followed their king to a dragon infested mountain they themselves seemed apprehensive to search for a stone that made their previous kings go stark raving mad, to cause their mountain to be targeted by a dragon in the first place. Who knows how many more dragons were waiting for low hanging fruit such as the one Erebor was making itself by hiding away the ocean of gold within its walls.

“Thorin! You must give them aid! They slain the dragon we let loose!” Bilbo pleaded with the king. He had found himself regale fit for a king, but he was acting more like a cobbler that had just settled in the Shire only to find out hobbits don’t wear shoes.

“They are thieves the lot of them.” Thorin snapped at Bilbo. Bilbo rolled his eyes. He would see about speaking with Bard if he ever got the chance. Bofur had helped him tie a rope to the end of the battlements so he could leave freely while the rest of the company spent their days searching for a stone that only caused him back problems while he slept.

“For a king you’re behavior is deplorable.” They were alone for once in the little alcove above the treasury where Thorin had set up his base, so he could watch over the work his dwarves were doing while also making sure nothing went out of sight unbeknownst to him. Thorin turned on him. Bilbo held his ground by the table. He would not be bullied by a dwarf who thought he could turn away the needy that had come to his aid when he needed it.

“And what would you have done about it, hobbit.” His eyes were like frostbite. They nipped at his skin and made him shiver, but he didn’t let Thorin see that. There was a tension in his words that Bilbo had noticed over the past few days. It had started with glares that didn’t seem so angered as they were heated. Then his words would go from teasing to something akin to possession. Bilbo had watched as his mind declined and he found himself climbing that rope more often than not. He had even gotten Fili and Kili out to explore together. They seemed to almost fall for the same sickness as Thorin, but after their adventures they seemed to rid themselves of it. If he couldn’t stop it he hoped he could at least keep it at bay for the nephews as long as he could. Should their uncle fall they were to take the responsibility. Bilbo shuddered at the idea, but he had to be realistic.

“I’d ought to smack some sense into you, oh king!” Thorin’s only response was a toothy smirk. Given any other moment the look might have made Bilbo weak-kneed, but with the glossy film over Thorin’s eyes, it was more concerning than arousing.

“I’d be nearly tempted to see you try.” His voice was slick and it poured over Bilbo like the freezing water of Laketown. Bilbo sneered, storming out of the room. Bilbo was on his way to the battlements, but no one need know that less they could attempt to calm the bothered hobbit. Not that Thorin would let them leave the treasury for more than a brief moment to chase after Bilbo anyways. He made his way to the top and paced back and forth, occasionally gesticulating at nothing and muttering under his breath. Something caught in the corner of his eye and he looked out over the desolation. The men were still camped out, but now an army of elves seemed to be making their way towards Erebor’s gates. Bilbo hurriedly scrambled off the battlements and went in search of Balin.

xXx

“You’re a fool, Thorin!” Bilbo doesn’t remember a time he had yelled so much at a single person that wasn’t a Sackville-Baggins. “You can’t go to war!” Everyone stared at him as he clenched his fists at his side and glared daggers at the king’s back.

“Fear not, Halfling. This matter does not concern you.” He turned as if only to give a parting glance as he walked towards the stairs.

“Thorin!” Bilbo called after him. The looks of the rest of the company seemed to speak to the behavior of the king. While few looked relieved, as they were privy to some information he didn’t know, but most seemed as exasperated as Bilbo. They began to stream down into the mountain albeit reluctantly. “Fili…Kili…” Bilbo said softly. They looked at him with tears in their eyes. Their loyalty to their king, but their loyalty to the hobbit who had cared for them like their own uncle before his madness. _Dragon sickness_. As Balin had called it. At last he was alone on the battlements. He looked out over the desolation to Dale where the elves and men had retreated. If a war was to be had they would need to get anyone who wasn’t fighting off of the potential battlefield. Bilbo sat out in the cold for a long moment, watching as the shapes of the men and elves got smaller and smaller. His brain wracking for a plan. He would have spit for a smoke at that moment. He put his head in his hands and cried. A foolish king, an impending battle, thirteen dwarves, and a missing wizard. It was a lot on a hobbit.

He didn’t know how long he sat there with tears staining his hands making ripples in the dusting of dirt and snow on the stone, but after a while he noticed it was dark and not just because the sun had fallen past the horizon. Bilbo sniffled and leaned back on his makeshift seat. Something moved beside him and he nearly jumped out of his skin as Bofur puffed away at his pipe.

“Bofur!” Bilbo yelped. A dignified yelp. Like one would give if they were a brave warrior entering battle to intimidate his enemies.

“Aye. ‘S me.” He muttered around his pipe. There was no smoke coming out of it, but he couldn’t tell if that was because it was empty or because it had gone out. “Yer’ gon catch your death out here, Bilbo.” He attempted a small smile. “’Specially thall the crying you were doin’.” Bilbo had the decency to blush at that.

“How long have you been sitting there watching me cry?” Bilbo sniffled again. The dwarf was probably right about the cold.

“’Bou an hour or so. Ran out of pipeweed, I waited so long.” Bilbo gave a wet chuckle.

“And you couldn’t bother to give me a kerchief?” Bofur chortled at that.

“I’ve but only one pocket and you’ve already done taken that one” Bilbo laughed openly at that.

“I suppose you’re right.” He groaned as his head began to throb and his nose hadn’t ceased running.

“Who’d have thought when you were hired to reclaim a mountain from a dragon the hardest part wouldn’t even be the dragon.” Bilbo smirked. His stomach made itself known at that moment.

“What’s going to happen Bofur?” Bilbo had never been to war. He had seen a Fell Winter, and fought wargs, and goblins, and giant spiders, but never war. War was something big folk did when they felt particularly embellished.

“Well, Dain’s a comin’ from what’s being run around the group. Then that might be enough to at’le scare off the ole elves and men.” Bilbo couldn’t help but think of the orcs that had been chasing them since the Misty Mountains.

“Azog?” Bilbo squeaked.

“Oh yeah, bet he’ll make an appearance.” He clicked his teeth on his pipe. “Buh, ain’t no worry Master Baggins. You’s won’t be fighting.” Bilbo started.

“What do you mean I won’t be fighting?” Bofur looked startled at the hobbit’s remark.

“Uhhh…” He mumbled something around his pipe before he pocketed it and stood up in a flourish. “Come now Bilbo, you’ve be starving at this rate.” Bilbo was going to continue to press the issue, but Bofur made a point to not stop talking as he nearly shoved Bilbo down the steps of the battlements. The fact that his stomach was readily agreeing with the insistence of food was no one’s business, but his own. Bofur’s news had sparked the plan in his mind. Once they got down the stairs, Bilbo begrudgingly followed the chatting dwarf to where they had set up the dining hall. There Fili, Kili, Bifur, and Ori were all eating. They looked ragged. Bilbo looked back at Bofur and realized that in the dark of the night he hadn’t seen the way his face seemed to hold the whole of the mountain by his whiskers. Bilbo stifled a gasp at the sight and made a note to speak with Thorin after he finished eating. Bilbo moved to sit at the end of the table, but upon entering, Fili and Kili both dragged him to sit between them.

They ate their stew in silence. The dwarves too exhausted to do much of anything else and the hobbit seething under his spoon. Once everyone had finished, Fili and Kili dragged Bilbo to their impromptu sleeping arrangements. The walkway to the royal quarters had been demolished by the dragon and it would have to wait until more dwarves had made their way to Erebor. For now they were all sharing the court given it was the largest and most unscathed room in the immediate area. Bilbo first laughed when they showed him the room that even a dragon knew to steer clear of politics. Not really anyone else found that particularly funny, but Bilbo had a good laugh at it. Fili and Kili goaded him to their beds, they had found some old cots in a few of the shops and set them up. Not everyone slept at the same time anyways, so it worked out well enough that their weren’t that many.

“I’m going to go try and speak some sense into your uncle before I get some rest.” He told the boys. Any other day they would have argued with him that a tired hobbit isn’t good for anyone, but even though they looked ready to, they merely pouted and collapsed on their cots. Bilbo went to removed their boots and made sure their blankets weren’t scattered about haphazardly. It was a futile effort given that by the time he got back he knew they would be abandoned and disarrayed. He went in search of their uncle. He figured to try the terrace above the treasury given that that was where the king almost always was. Bilbo could feel his blood boiling the closer he marched to the treasury. He could hear people clinking away at the gold in their search. He wanted to shout for all of them to go rest and eat and no doubt wash up since he doubted they had done any of that with any consistency. He held his tongue as he shoved the door open to the little room.

Balin and Thorin were looking over some papers, they both looked up at the abrupt appearance of the burglar. It didn’t last long as Balin took into account the hobbit’s expression and he packed up his items and hurried out the same doors Bilbo came storming through.

“Thorin Oakenshield, you blockhead of a king!” Bilbo thought he heard a gasp behind him, but the doors had already closed behind him barring him from taking a look at who it could be. Rather than angry as he expected the king to be, Thorin had the same smug smirk on his face as he saw on the battlements. “Wipe that grin off your face before you find yourself teeth first in that gold below you.” Bilbo snapped as he trudged closer. Instead it only seemed to widen, but a dark look came over Thorin’s expression.

“Good evening to you as well, Master Baggins.” Bilbo scoffed. “Rather late for you to be interrupting my meetings.”

“Rather late of you to be having meetings at all, King Under the Mountain.” Bilbo crossed his arms tightly over his chest. Thorin’s smirk didn’t falter in the slightest. Instead he took a step closer, reaching out carefully. This was not the action Bilbo was expecting and stilled at the action. Thorin grabbed a small strand of his hair and twirled it in between his fingers.

“You would look fine bedecked in a silver and the finest furs.” Of all the things Bilbo had expected to hear from the king and leader of the company it wasn’t that. He had half the sense to keep his jaw from dropping to the floor.

“Now is not time for that.” Bilbo swatted his hand away. There was something lurking right under the surface of Thorin’s grin. “These dwarves need rest and you need to come to your senses. A battle is the last thing we need in this mountain.” Thorin only took another step closer, not at all effected by the words Bilbo was barking at him.

“You needn’t worry, like I stated previously.” Thorin’s voice turned cold. Like a siren call. Bilbo wondered if this is what Thorin heard surrounded by so much gold. Thorin was thoroughly in his space now as Bilbo had to crane his neck back to look at him. “You won’t be in the battle at all, Master Hobbit.”

“Another thing I was informed of, but last I remembered, you are not my king and I will fight if I damned need to.” There was a spark in Thorin’s eye. Bilbo thought it might be humor.

“No, you’ve made it perfectly clear you are king only unto yourself.” It was humor, but it was twisted and made Bilbo’s stomach flip. He could feel the hair on his arms stand up on end. Bilbo was pressing his luck as he continued to poke at whatever sickness was residing within Thorin. If the way he was staring at Bilbo was any indication he was a hairs breadth away from being thrown from the terrace himself. “What brings you to my company, if only to berate me on my foreign and domestic policy?” Thorin’s voice was uncharacteristically sweet. Bilbo remembered an old fauntling tale about a witch that lived in Fangorn Forest that would tempt men, dwarves, hobbits, elves, and orcs alike with an apple promising whatever they could wish for, but once it was bit it would cast a curse on the holder and make them sleep for a thousand years while the witch decided how she was going to consume your body to replenish her power. Thorin’s voice sounded how he bet that apple tasted.

“You’re not yourself Thorin.” Bilbo tried to placate with a soothing tone, he had settled from his previous ire. His eyes so focused on Thorin’s face he hadn’t realized he had slithered his arm around Bilbo’s lower back and was now pulling him to his body. Bilbo gasped audibly as he was brought into the warmth of Thorin’s arms. Thorin’s other hand had worked its way to the back of Bilbo’s neck and cradled his head as he looked up in shock at Thorin.

“What do you know of myself, Halfling?” Bilbo shuddered at the tone steady volume of Thorin’s voice. His eyes were piercing into Bilbo’s thoughts, he thought for sure that he would be able to read his mind and his intentions. Thorin’s face went through several emotions before he grabbed onto something in Bilbo’s coat. “What is this?” Bilbo felt his heart drop to his oversized feet. Thorin began pulling his arm out of Bilbo’s coat and in a closed fist. Bilbo was about ready to faint when he caught the brown hue of the acorn in Thorin’s hand. Bilbo had put the Arkenstone in a hiding spot, so when he slept he didn’t have to worry about sticky fingers searching his pockets.

“It’s an acorn.” Bilbo watched as Thorin cradled it in both hands like one might do to a small babe fresh born. “I got it from Beorn’s gardens.”

“You’ve kept it all this way?” Thorin whispered incredulously. He could see the Thorin he knew returning to his eyes. He was soft around his cheeks and his mouth was supple like a babe’s. He looked more like the leader he had followed all the way across Arda.

“I want to plant it in my home, in Bag End. When I get back.” Thorin’s eyes softened, but he could see a sadness there.

“I would not send you back if you did not wish to do so.” Thorin spoke lightly. How the roles had changed in just a fraction of a second. Thorin handed the acorn back to Bilbo and he placed it securely in his pocket. He had worried that the king had grabbed the magic ring, which he doubted would satisfy any of the sickness that was current plaguing Thorin’s mind. Thorin’s eyes were still soft when he invaded Bilbo’s space once more. This time he was tentative when he reached up to wrap his arm around the hobbit’s waist. Bilbo let him, so long as he face remained familiar. Bilbo could feel the warmth emanating from Thorin as he was brought to his body again. The arm that wasn’t around his waist crept up to gently brush his fingers against the apple of Bilbo’s cheek. He felt himself shudder.

“I would eventually have to go back, I have a home to sort through that no doubt has been ransacked by neighbors and relatives. You know the feeling.” Bilbo tried at a joke, but he felt he missed the mark when Thorin’s arm grew stiff around his waist and his fingers dug into his hair, pulling at knots.

“I will not have anyone take from me what I have rightfully won. This is mine.” Thorin snapped at him. Somehow Bilbo didn’t feel like he was speaking about the gold and kingdom around them. Thorin gently put his forehead to Bilbo’s in what would normally be a sweet gesture, but now it just made Bilbo feel trapped as he stood still against the dwarf.

“Thorin, I must go. I promised your nephews I would return once I was finished speaking with you.” Thorin’s arms loosened, but they did not let go.

“And what did you need to speak with me about?” His voice was thick. He seemed suspicious of Bilbo’s attempt to seek him out. Bilbo stared for a long moment, his mouth partially open as he tried to form words in his mind. Thorin pulled back slightly and was dividing his attention between Bilbo’s lips and eyes. Bilbo gasped as Thorin’s hand moved down from its position in his hair to caress his bottom lip.

“Nothing, it’s not important.” Bilbo attempted to back pedal before the feeling of his thumb over his lip caused him to do something even more reckless than what he had already planned.

“Then you should go get your rest. Tomorrow we prepare.” Thorin let him go just as quickly as he had ensnared him. He walked into the dark to overlook the searching of the Arkenstone. Bilbo turned quickly and ran out the doors he had previously stormed into. He went to the hiding spot he had put the Arkenstone and covered himself in a cloak, pulling the rope tight as he made his way down the battlements.

xXx

“Hello!” Bilbo cheered as he took off his hood upon entering the tent with Bard, Thranduil, and Gandalf.

“Thain. I had not expected to see you still here.” Thranduil gave him a glance, his eyes half closed. Gandalf and Bard looked at the Mirkwood king.

“Thain?” Gandalf sputtered. Thranduil looked at Gandalf. Bard stepped to stand between the wizard and the elf king. He seemed disinterested in the title in which Bilbo currently held and more interested in his sudden appearance.

“How did you get past the guards?” Bard piped incredulously. Bilbo gave a small wave in answer. He was tempted to tell them that sometimes being small worked more in his favor than the magic ring, not that he went unseen, but that people assumed he was a child and in need of some reassuring rather than orders to leave the camp.

“It seems our little hobbit has a knack for sneaking past even the most well trained personnel.” Thranduil raised a perfectly curve eyebrow. Bilbo wondered if Elvish hair took as long to grow as they did or if it was exponential to the rest of his body. The look he gave Bilbo answered none of his questions. Gandalf looked shocked and amused by the exchange.

“Yes, sorry about that, but I’ve come with a trade.” They all turned to Bilbo now. Each of them towering over the hobbit. He momentarily forgot about the stone hidden in his pocket as he peered up at the three towering figures. He couldn’t help but feel they had all grown many feet since the last time he had seen them. Maybe being around dwarves was getting to him.

“A trade, Bilbo? What would the king under the mountain trade to end this insanity.” Bilbo quirked his lips at the statement.

“His heart, of course.” Bilbo stated, pulling the Arkenstone from his coat. They all looked aghast at the sight. “I took it as my fourteenth share and I intend to use it to barter for a pact.” Everyone was still silent for a long moment before Thranduil stepped forward.

“You would give the heart of the mountain in hopes that Thorin would not see it as a slight against his people?” Thranduil held it in his hands and it made the stone look miniscule compared to Bilbo’s own hobbit ones.

“If it will prevent unneeded harm to my company I would trade anything.” Gandalf chewed on his pipe quietly. The elf and the man stared at one another for a moment.

“It would seem we have greater things at hand then a quibble between the three of us.” Bard was wise and Bilbo was sure he would make a great king when his own kingdom returned to glory. “Gandalf tells us of thousands of orcs and goblins heading to Erebor to slay the king under the mountain.” Bilbo nearly fell to his knees at the declaration. “This will be a war we all must band together or we shall perish.” Bard and Thranduil shared a brief exchange before Bilbo could find his words. “You should stay here, we will provide you sanctuary, your mission is complete, Master Baggins.” Bilbo shook his head.

“No I can’t. I have to make sure those dwarves survive.” They stared at him in silence. “Their my company too and I can’t abandon them before I see this through.” They each shared their own distinct emotion on the matter, but they didn’t attempt to stop him when he bowed and took his leave. He had to hope this would work, or they were going to be fighting a war they surely could not win. All because a foolish dwarf had wanted a stone over the safety of his family. A stone would not rule Erebor when they all lie cold in the ground.

xXx

Morning came much too quickly after Bilbo’s midnight adventures. He had tried to squeeze in between the boys once he returned to the mountain, but Fili had left for duty of some kind and it was just Kili sprawled out on the cot. Bilbo brushed the hair from Kili’s face as he slept. His beardless face twitched, but he stayed asleep. He also was wrapped up in all of the blankets, so Bilbo had to settle for borrowing Bombur’s as he was no doubt already on watch. It was cold and much too big for him, so he wrapped the excess around Kili and tried his best to fall asleep. It felt like nigh fifteen minutes before his eyes were forced open by the sound of running. Bilbo jumped up, alone in the cot, and saw Balin coming towards him.

“Come now lad,” Bilbo barely had a moment’s notice before he was being dragged out of the cot and led down the many steps and hallways of Erebor. Balin went ahead of him and he was left to his own as Balin hurried to what looked like the armory. There was a figure standing in the doorway, something clutched between their hands. Bilbo dared to step forward, as he got closer he could see it was Thorin, his size nearly doubled in all of his armor as he clanked his way toward Bilbo.

“Master Baggins.” Bilbo hardly recognized the king nowadays, even less now that he was bedecked in the finest armor that no doubt would be covered in blood come noon. The thought had Bilbo nearly running back to the warm cot to perish the thought from his mind. He held firm as Thorin stepped closer to him, he could see now he was holding a shirt out to him. At least he thought it was a shirt.

“Thorin, what’s that?” Thorin held it out to Bilbo.

“Mithril. Please take it.” Despite his words, his voice was unrecognizable. Bilbo sneered at the sight. He could see a few of the other dwarves stopping to watch them from the door way. He felt exposed and he could barely look Thorin in the eye. He thought about the implication of the mithril shirt. That he would be on that treacherous battlefield along with his dwarves. With Thorin.

“Thorin…” He started, but he didn’t know where that sentence would end, so he bit his tongue and gave a tight nod. He’d rather be with them watching their backs than without them. He took the mithril from Thorin’s hands and felt the cold metal against his fingertips. It felt no different than the way Thorin’s eyes seemed to scan over him.

“Never take it off, please Bilbo.” His voice had gone quiet. Bilbo gulped as he started to take off his coat. He didn’t notice the way Thorin had glared behind him at the small gaggle of dwarves that had stopped to watch them from the doorway. Upon seeing their king’s threatening glance they dispersed quickly. Bilbo got the shirt over well enough, but as he straightened it his hair got caught and he was violently thrown forward in shock. He let out a yelp as the hair caught and refused to release itself. Bilbo stopped moving as he soon felt arms around him, delicately plucking the hair from the chains. Bilbo grumbled a thank you, which was met with an almost smile, something he hadn’t seen since entering the blasted mountain. Bilbo put his coat back on and rocked on his heels.

“Thorin, there’s still time to call off this ridiculous war.” Bilbo tried one last time. If anything could be said about him it would be that he is persistent to a fault. “Join the elves and men.” Thorin seemed to have several emotions vying for his attention amidst his mind. He settled for blank instead.

“I have my own allies that will not desert me.” He insisted. Something in his tone had Bilbo nearly stepping back. As if spurred by something he grabbed Bilbo and pushed him back towards one of the pillars, Bilbo could feel the cool stone on his back as Thorin pressed against his front. His mind was in a flurry of thoughts as Thorin leaned in. “Unlike these betrayers around me. I know one of them has the Arkenstone.” Bilbo thought back to when Smaug was hunting for him. This was that same voice. As if the dragon hadn’t died and instead lived on in Thorin now. Finally Bilbo’s mind came back to him.

“Thorin, there are thousands maybe millions of pounds of gold, it might take years to find the stone. There’s but only 13 of us.” That didn’t seem to satisfy him.

“I need that stone. That stone is the only thing worthy.” Something dark crossed Thorin’s features as he looked down at Bilbo. His hands had moved from his shoulders and were now moving under his coat. Bilbo panted as equal amounts of fear and arousal sparked his veins and stuttered his heart.

“Worthy? Thorin, the throne is yours, you needn’t a rock to prove it.” Confusion colored Thorin’s features as his hands halted just under the hem of the mithril.

“It isn’t a rock, it’s a gift.” Bilbo tried to reign in his senses and not focus on the warm fingers that toyed with the edge of his shirt. He tried to press himself closer to the wall behind him, but somehow that only seemed to spur Thorin on. He moved his hands so they were wrapped around Bilbo’s hips. Bilbo bit his lip at the heat that sparked from where Thorin’s fingers rested just above the swell of his ass. This was not the Thorin he adventured with. This wouldn’t be the same. The sickness was making him this way. Just as quickly as he was there, he wasn’t. He was pulling back as if urged by an unseen force. Bilbo never knew what made Thorin do much of anything when his mind was altered in this way, if he was hearing something none of the others could hear or if his mind simply had a very short attention span. Thorin turned on his heel and back around the main walkway of the armory.

It was like with Thorin he was in a bubble, and all the noises from around them had seeped back into his senses with startling reality. But instead of following the noises and walking with the dwarves to the armory, he pressed himself against the stone and slid the opposite way, so he was unseen by the rest of the company. He panted quietly as he willed his heart and body to calm themselves. He dug his nails into the stone and centered himself. Once he had regained control of his breathing he turned back to the hallway and began his march to the battlements.

Upon arriving they were greeted with thousands of Elvish warriors and a few hundred men fighters. Bilbo watched from the back of the group as Thorin made a fool of himself in front of the other two diplomats.

“We are not going to fight you.” Thranduil stated pointedly. The dwarves seemed confused by the statement. “Something has been given and accepted that will suffice for temporary treaty.” All of the dwarves started to murmur amongst themselves. Bofur looked at Bilbo with worry in his eyes and moved his way closer to the hobbit. Kili watched as Bofur did this and stepped behind his uncle. The shocked gasps were enough to know exactly what had been presented. Bofur still held fast in front of Bilbo and despite the shock of the sight of the Arkenstone, Kili moved even closer to Bilbo, his brother also taking note and stepping beside him.

“Where did you get that?” Dwalin yelled from his spot next to Thorin. “That belongs to the king!” Thorin was silent and motionless. Bilbo felt his throat attempt to close up, but he put a hand on Bofur’s shoulder, stepping forward.

“He got it from me.” Bilbo was glad his voice sounded stronger than he felt. All eyes turned on him. “I took it as my fourteenth share to save this company.” Bilbo didn’t dare look around. He had his eyes firmly planted on Thorin’s back. He had yet to turn around and face him. “You’ve been a fool Thorin, and I will not let anyone else suffer in your madness!” Bilbo felt his voice rising. His hands clenching at his sides. “Face me you daft king!” The silence was oppressive around them. Fili and Kili were on either side of Bilbo. Finally, albeit slowly, Thorin turned around. His face was red and Bilbo saw tears start to form in his eyes. This was not the expression he had been expecting.

“You left the mountain?” Thorin’s voice was harsh despite its soft volume. Bilbo was shocked by the question.

“Yes?” Bilbo tilted his head at the inquiry. Everyone else seemed startled by the line of questioning as well.

“I told you it wasn’t safe out there.” His voice began to rise. He could see Fili and Kili tense beside him. “These _aznudkungêl_ have turned you against me. They have tricked you into giving them the Arkenstone.” Thorin took a step forward. “That was to be given to you.” Bilbo had a million thoughts racing through his mind. He watched as Thorin continued to stride forward. Nothing more was said as Thorin grabbed Bilbo and he finally was brought back to the reality of the situation. Fili, Kili, and Bofur tried their hardest to make Thorin put Bilbo down. Bofur earned an elbow to the eye for the action and Fili and Kili were both kicked at, Fili dodging, but Kili getting hit square in the thigh, making him fall. Yells from the other dwarves started up at Thorin’s actions. Oin ran to Kili and Bofur’s side. They both fell to the ground either out of shock or pain Bilbo couldn’t tell. Finally he heard another voice above all the rest. Gandalf.

“Thorin Oakenshield, if you are unsatisfied with my burglar then I would ask that you return him to me!” But he didn’t stop. Bard and Thranduil could be heard calling after Thorin now as with the rest of the company. Bilbo tried to struggle his way out of Thorin’s grasp, but he had very little leverage, slung over his back like this. Thorin held him so tight, he was sure he wouldn’t be able to breathe if he attempted to wiggle any more.

“Thorin, what are you doing?” But he was only met with silence. He couldn’t see Thorin’s face for all his hair was in the way and the crane of his neck as awkward. Bilbo watched as the company ran after Thorin, but they were stopped. Balin held everyone back, whatever would be done to Bilbo was to be done and they weren’t going to get through to Thorin, they had to trust that Bilbo would know himself. Balin gave a sorrowful look which Bilbo could only return. Balin still had an army at their door despite being told they wouldn’t fight the dwarves. They also had an angry wizard to attend to as he had just watched his charge get carried off by their mad king. With being carried through the halls on Thorin’s back he was quickly lost and had no hope of finding himself back to the company without said capture’s help back. They were in a part of the mountain that he’d never even known was there. That was a lot to be said when a majority of the mountain was swathed in piles of gold, mountains in their own regard.

Finally they reached a large room, it was cold and there was a hole in one side, plugged with the gold that had poured in. There was nothing in the room save for the pile of gold in the corner. Thorin locked the door behind him and put the key back under his shirt. He set Bilbo down on the pile of gold, where Bilbo thought he would be swiftly left alone to rot, but he was pushed back down by Thorin’s weight as the dwarf climbed on top of him. Bilbo felt his heart freeze in terror, but no strikes came to him. Instead Thorin gently caressed Bilbo’s cheek. Bilbo breathed harshly through his mouth.

“They cannot have you, _bunnanun_.” Bilbo watched as Thorin’s eyes seemed to change color, from the icy blue to the same fire-orange that was Smaug’s great orbs. It was only a moment, before they returned normal. Thorin leaned down into Bilbo’s space his hands finding Bilbo’s and holding them above his head.

“Thorin!” Bilbo attempted. He tried to free himself of Thorin’s grasp, but it only seemed to entice him more. Thorin moved to Bilbo’s neck, he could hear him continue to speak in Khuzdul. Bilbo panted, but he wasn’t sure at this point if it was from fear or attraction. Thorin’s beard tickled him along his collar bone and he arched his back unable to resist the feeling of sparks shooting through his body. Thorin held his wrist with one hand and used the other to open up Bilbo’s coat. Bilbo gasped at the cool breeze against his otherwise heated body.

“This is all for you Bilbo, the Arkenstone, the mountain, everything. It’s yours if you’ll only have me.” Bilbo couldn’t think straight as Thorin continued to speak against his neck. “You are the only treasure I demand and will possess.” Bilbo tried to put his knees up to get more leverage to throw off Thorin, but it only pushed him further down Bilbo and he let out a cry at the action.

“Thorin! Le-let me,” Bilbo took a gulp of air. “Go.” He hated how his body refused to put up a fight despite his mind telling him that this was a worse idea than baiting a dragon and stealing from right under his nose. Bilbo panted as Thorin moved his hand along his stomach and toying with the waistband of his trousers. He couldn’t stop the high keening that left his mouth as Thorin’s fingers grazed the skin there as he gently opened his mouth just grab onto the connection between Bilbo’s neck and shoulder, it wasn’t a bite, it was just a press of teeth against flesh to remind him of who was in charge. Bilbo was panting heavily now and his breaths mingled with Thorin’s in the small space between them. The gold was shifting around them as Thorin adjusted his position. He was sitting squarely on Bilbo, Thorin’s evident arousal pressing against his own despite what he may try to think of otherwise. Thorin alternated between nipping and kissing the skin around his neck and chest, the mithril falling forward to reveal more of the hobbit’s skin.

“They can’t have you, you’re mine.” He repeated _mine_ several times between his ministrations. Bilbo groaned as Thorin grazed his teeth against Bilbo’s chest.

“Thorin,” he panted heavily, but was desperate to get this to stop before it went too far despite the illusion of Thorin’s sense of control in the situation. “What of the orcs? They’ll be here in moments. The company needs your leadership.” Thorin growled, biting a little harder at Bilbo’s chest. There was something feral in the action that in another circumstance might scare him, but not it did nothing to soften the erection straining in his pants.

“Don’t speak of others while I’m straddling you.” Came the throaty reply, but after a moment he leaned up and looked at Bilbo with lust blown pupils. He could barely see the blue of his irises. For a moment Bilbo laid there watching as Thorin was a statue on top of him. “Orcs?”

“Yes, Gandalf warned me of their impending arrival, that’s why I had Bard and Thranduil agree to fight with us.” Thorin gave one heavy breath out of his nose. Like he watched the ponies do so many times in their travels. Suddenly the weight on Bilbo was relinquished and he pulled his hands free, rubbing at the wrists.

“I need to inform Dain.” Thorin stood up, not offering Bilbo to come with him. He was striding off the gold pile in quick movements towards the door. He didn’t even look behind him as Bilbo reached out to follow him. Suddenly remembering the Hobbit’s presence, Thorin turned just before the door. “You must stay here. It is unsafe out there. They might try to take you from me.” His voice was cold and left no room for negotiation, but Bilbo had a fleeting relationship with reason.

“I need to go with you. Who will watch your back?” It was weak at best, but Bilbo needed to get out of this room. If they didn’t survive this battle he would be locked in here until he succumbed to the hunger that would no doubt be his demise. Thorin’s face softened and it made Bilbo want to smack it off of him.

“ _Bunnanun_ , war is no place for a hobbit.” Then Thorin’s mask of sickness took over his features once again. “I will fight alongside the elves if that is what will calm your worries, Bilbo.” It relieved Bilbo only slightly. Who knew what kind of forces the orcs were bringing. Azog had had many years to think of the best way to eradicate the line of Durin.

“It will, but I would be more calmed if I was by your side.” Thorin shook his head. Without another word, he left through the door. It was locked before Bilbo could grab at the handle. He yanked and pulled and yelled for Thorin, but he was only met with receding footsteps. He continued to bang and yell at the door, desperately trying to get it open. He was sure he had bruised his hands from the pounding he was doing on the well-crafted wood. He took a step back, tears streaming down his face, and kicked the door for good measure. He looked around the room for some way to get himself out. The room didn’t even have a fireplace that he could have attempted to climb. He only had the deep gash in the side of the room where the gold had piled up. He had no idea what was on the other side of the wall, or if he was even going to be able to find his way back if he did get himself out. He let out a frustrated cry and ran for the pile of gold. He pushed his hands in, ignoring the way he could still smell Thorin in the empty room. He began to shove the gold back with all of his might, throwing coins every which way as he dug into the mass. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How's that you fools? Did you get what you came for? Huh? No love in this house just slow burn and angst and an author who's as fucking bonkers as Jolkien Rolkien Himself. Can't focus on a single task that is at all relevant to my education but want some SMUT got some dubiously consented SMUT like I LOVE. All of this is for me and not even the devil could stop these hands. Also the phrase ‘see the dragon amongst the gold’ is my version of can’t see the forest for the trees but for gold sickness. Let me know if it actually worked. In this case it’s more of can’t look at the giant dwarf eating menace while searching for the Arkenstone. Finally please…Sally’s Song by Amy Lee…..Just saying. Pretty Bagginshieldy.  
> PS: Has anyone thought about how if Hobbits get scared their feet hair stands straight on end like some sort of angry cat? Please someone draw a scared Bilbo with his feet hair ramrod straight.  
> If ya'll can't tell the A/N is where I really just let loose with my commentary.  
> Also LOTS of Evanescence inspired playlist for this story *cough* Call Me When You're Sober *cough* but I mean that's completely up to ya'll if you want me to unsecret my playlist for ya'll to listen while you read. (You could always let me know in the comments, its not big deal. I also know five languages so don't be afraid to comment in your native tongue that'd be SWELL)  
> aznudkungêl - Tall folk  
> Bunnanun - tiny treasure


	2. Take My Coins Bardman, For Mahal Awaits Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is about a war so it does get graphic at points. I'll probably add the trigger on this story, but for right now this is your only warning.  
> Secondly, my story my rules so this is how it should have ended in my book. So it is. And I have so much more in store for these guys I can't have anyone dying just yet.  
> With that being said I plan on utilizing this quarantine situation to my advantage and my goal is to get at least one chapter for all of my WIP's and maybe even a few one shots. That being said. No promises.  
> This chapter is set during the war so there is a lot of jumping around in POV

The sound of soldiers on the horizon did nothing to calm Fili’s nerves as he looked on at the sheer mass that was Thranduil’s army. The glistening of the gold army shining in the early morning light. Gandalf stared in disbelief and anger at the remaining dwarves on the balcony. He moved in front of Thranduil, who sat uncomfortable atop his white stag as it grunted and chuffed, stamping at the ground as if sensing the discomfort amongst the crowd. A murmur passed through the army and Bard’s men started to clamor and yell. Bard raised his hand to silence the men.

Fili could see Dain’s army crest the ridge, but his eyes were firmly fixed on the wizard who seemed to amass size as he stood before all the armies.

“Dwarves of Erebor!” He bellowed. The army nearest him all broke ranks and avoided the growing shadow that seemed to pass through the crowd. Even Thranduil pulled his stag back and the rest of the army shifted behind him. “Release Bilbo Baggins into my care or a dragon will not being the most dangerous thing to have ruined your fine mountain!” Kili pulled up next to Fili, rubbing his leg as he stood next to his brother. The heir apparent and the prince of Erebor couldn’t do or say anything that would ease their situation. They too were at a loss for Thorin’s actions. Thankfully Balin appeared on Fili’s other side.

“We do not presume that Thorin would harm Bilbo.” Balin called from the battlements. This did not seem to calm Gandalf’s ire. Fili could see Dain’s army was now at the edge of Thranduil’s army. He could hear Dain calling to the King, to Thorin. Fili seemed spurred into action.

“Dwalin, get to work on these gates. We need them opened regardless of a war.” Dwalin took a moment before he nodded and called to the rest of the company. Fili ran to where the rope was attached at the edge of the gates. Without thinking he started to repel down. He was nearly the way down when he felt a tug on the rope. Kili started after him. Fili hit the ground and without waiting for Kili he bolted for Dain’s army. Thranduil was quiet as he turned and he let Fili and Kili charge through their ranks. The rest of the army cleared a path to let the prince’s through. Fili felt his lungs start to burn at the exertion, but he kept running.

“Ah! Fili! Kili! You boys have gotten so big!” Dain yelled as he got closer. He came to halt and got off his battle pig. “Where’s your uncle now?” Fili panted heavily as he finally approached Dain. They exchanged a quick head butt in greeting before Fili could speak.

“Thorin is unwell. There will be no war between the elves.” Fili tried to compose himself as best he could in front of Dain. Dain seemed to experience several emotions before his face went blank in front of Fili.

“What’s going on here? Where’s Thorin?” Fili could barely hear Balin talking with the other leaders. Dain bellowed and his army started to raise their voices behind him.

“We have no fight with the elves or of the men. This empire will not be built on blood!” Fili attempted. “A treaty has been accepted and will be until proper arrangements can be made to return the items that are promised by our forefathers to their rightful owners.” Dain gave Fili and Kili a look.

“Quiet down!” He called to his clamoring army. There was a long stretch of silence before Dain grunted. “Fine, but the first thing I need to do is speak with the king himself.” Fili let go of his breath. “or at least someone who is old enough to know about what they’re talking about.” He snapped. He turned his pig in a circle once before he motioned with his head to his army. They began to march towards the entrance of Erebor. Just as they reached the ranks of Thranduil’s army a tremendous rumbling could be felt around all of them. The pigs began to whine and squeal. Suddenly the mountains around them erupted with giant worms and the sound of screeching could be heard. Fili and Kili stared in horror at the earth movers that disappeared back into the hillside. The sound of black speech filled the hollowed tunnels and the armies around them began to re-center. A mix of human, elf, and dwarf. Fili and Kili only had a dagger between them as they were surrounded on all sides by soldiers.

“Eh we’re fighting them right?” Dain was still behind them. Fili heard the rest of the company calling for Fili and Kili. Only a small hole had been made for people to squeeze in and out of the mountain. Fili grabbed Kili’s hand as they saw the orc army emerge out of the tunnels.

xXx

Bilbo felt more than heard a great rumbling within the mountain. His hands were starting to bleed as the coins and countless gems cut into his hands and his finger nails broke as he dug further into the massive pile in the corner of the room. There had to be an end somewhere. The coins were starting to get slick with his blood as his fingers and hands continued to bleed. He took a moment and sat back on his haunches. He took deep breaths trying not to cry. He stood up and without thinking ran for the door, shoulder first. He bounced off and landed on his ass, skidding harshly against the stone. His shoulder screamed in pain and he hissed at the throbbing. His shirt was splattered in blood as he reached up to grab his shoulder. He got up once again, but this time went for the pile of gold again. He began to climb the pile, sliding now and again as the gold resettled all over the room.

He reached the top of the pile, thus the ceiling in the room and began to pull at the stones. The bricks were well placed, but surviving a dragon attack and the consequential stress from the gold no doubt had taken its toll on the walls. He pulled as hard as he could on a few pieces, ignoring the stinging in his hands and the throbbing in his shoulder. He heard a groan that wasn’t from him and shortly after the piece of the wall tumbled against him sending a landslide of gold coins down on top of him. He slid down the pile he was standing on, holding the brick against his chest as his head collided with the stone ground. He let out a loud gasp as the wind was knocked from him and pain blistered around his eyes. He saw stars, but didn’t let his temporary blindness stop him. He got up with a groan, his balance off. He lifted the rock above his head and ran for the door. He screamed as he did so, but just before the rock collided with the wooden door, the door in question opened up. He skidded to a stop as his body was thrown forward by the instantaneous halt in motion. Gandalf looked at him with wild eyes and Bilbo probably didn’t look much better. Realizing he was saved he tossed the brick to the side and ran out the door.

“Bilbo!” Bilbo only stopped for a second when he realized he didn’t know how to get back to the battlements.

“How did you find me?” Gandalf didn’t seem keen on answering questions as another tremble shook the mountain. “What was that?” Bilbo panicked.

“The orcs have arrived at Erebor.” Bilbo felt his blood run cold as he stared at Gandalf with wide eyes. “We must get to the battlefield promptly.” Bilbo nodded as Gandalf walked hurriedly past him.

“Sting.” Was all Bilbo could manage as he followed the gray wizard. Gandalf halted and pulled his robes back to reveal Bilbo’s blade.

“A wise addition to your wardrobe.” Bilbo grabbed his sword and tied it around his waist. If Gandalf noticed his bruised and bloodied hands he didn’t say anything. Nothing could be done for now while the thought of the company getting attacked by the orcs. They continued to race their way through the labyrinth of the mountain. The noises of battle were louder now and Bilbo heard his heart join in the cacophony. Finally they were in places he could remember and Bilbo began to run faster, propelled by his fear that the company was already vanquished. He pushed the thoughts from his mind as he recognized the entrance way of Erebor. The dwarves that were there previously had all disappeared, but there was a gap in the rubble. Enough for a man to squeeze through. Bilbo scrambled over the rocks, he spared a glance back at Gandalf. The wizard was having a hard time squeezing through with his hat and his staff. Bilbo went back and helped the Maiar.

Once Gandalf was out did Bilbo look towards the desolation between Dale and Erebor. The once magnificent gold of Thranduil’s army has been washed in blood and dirt. He could barely make out Thranduil riding through his ranks, his sword at the ready as he cleared a path of orcs. He thought he saw Bard between Balin and Kili, they rotated in a circle fending off orcs and goblins. He couldn’t see Thorin amongst the carnage.

“Bilbo!” Gandalf grabbed his shirt and pulled him back just in time as a dwarf and battle pig were thrown to the ground in front of them. The rider cried out in anguish, but got up none the less. “We must get you to safety.” Bilbo pulled himself from Gandalf’s grip.

“No, I must find Thorin!” Bilbo pulled his blade, it glowed blue and announced him to the war beyond.

“Bilbo!” Bofur swung his war hammer against some orc and made his way over to Bilbo. “We thought we’d lost you for good.” He didn’t stop moving as he swung again at an orc, getting its head stuck on the sharp end of his hammer. He swung it behind him, launching the dead orc at its compatriots. Bilbo ran up behind Bofur, and past him, stabbing an orc with a raised cleaver. He turned quickly and narrowly missed the blade of an orc, but Bofur was there to jump on the orcs back.

“Where’s Thorin!” Bilbo jumped back as an orc swung at him, but before he could swing sting at him an arrow pierced his skull. Bilbo was instantly sprayed with black blood. He spit next to him and looked around for Bofur.

“Don’t know! Didn’t see ‘im come out.” Bilbo groaned and charged an orc that was pressing down on Bofur. He ignored the pain in his shoulder from the previous run in with the solid wood door and shoved the orc off of Bofur.

“I have to find him.” Bofur grunted and grabbed the back of Bilbo’s collar, throwing him to the ground. The boulder still managed to scrape the side of his face and he felt blood begin to fall down his face.

“I’m coming with you.” Bofur picked him up and they made their way towards the center of the battle.

xXx

Kili grunted against an elf as he kicked himself off their shield they had put up for him. He yelled as he used a stolen short sword to stab an orc through the head. He got black ichor in his mouth and gave a sinister grin as he ducked a swing and sliced at the legs of his attacker. Before he could regain his stature the sound of a horn alerted him that there was a disturbance on the battle field. He sliced at an oncoming orc as he looked around for the source of the horn. He couldn’t pin point it until he saw movement farther from the battlefield. Another troupe of orcs went towards the abandoned town of Dale.

“The citadel!” Someone cried over the raucous noise of war. A section of Thranduil’s army turned toward the city and he saw Fili follow behind chasing after an orc that had its eyes set on Bard. Kili saw Dain plow through a section of orcs as he used a few of his rams behind him to clear a path for the Thranduil’s army to get to Dale.

“Come on boy, we gotta cut off the head of the snake!” A ram pulled up to Kili and he jumped on. He saw his uncle also claimed a ram and grabbed Fili by the scruff to his own ram. Dwalin grabbed the hair on one, but refused to get on as he slashed and hacked from its side at the orcs around them. Kili pulled his bow from his back and looked at his last remaining arrows. He put it back and grabbed a spear from a dead orc instead. He leaned into the ram and cleared the way of orcs. He darted in front of Dain, skewering a group of goblins that was standing on top of each other to try and jump on Dain. Dain hollered his thank you and Kili moved to Fili’s side. Kili had a nasty cut on his eye that was obscuring his vision, but he could tell Fili wasn’t much better, his arm was bleeding and making it difficult to have a tight hold on the neck of the ram. He looked up the steep cliff to where Azog no doubt waited for them and gritted his teeth.

xXx

“There!” Gandalf yelled as he swung his staff to collide with an orc’s head. Bilbo looked around until he saw Gandalf pointing towards Raven Hill.

“We have to get up there.” Bilbo groaned as he locked blades with a goblin. He kicked his foot out and knocked the goblin back, it sequentially fell on a broken wagon spoke with a garbled scream. Bilbo looked around for something to take them up there. When a large black mass fell from the sky. In landed with a loud roaring and Bilbo would have covered his ears had he not wanted to potentially lose his life.

“Better late than never, old friend.” Gandalf smirked as Beorn growled and swiped a large paw at a troll, spilling it’s gut on the few of Dain’s army that was unfortunately attacking it’s feet. Beorn reared up on his hind legs and came down full force on the troll just to be sure of its demise. With the one motion Beorn’s coat was covered in black blood. He circled Bilbo with intelligent eyes. “Faster than a ram any day. Now hurry, Bilbo.” Bilbo held tight onto his sword as Gandalf helped him hop onto Beorn’s back. “Hold tight now.” Bilbo did as he was told and before he knew it Beorn was taking off. He thought the pony could be rocky, but riding the back of a shifter was infinitely worse. He swallowed down his bile as he only thought about getting to Raven Hill. He could hear Beorn roaring and hear the dense crunch of bone as he bit down on any orc that got in his way. Bilbo noticed that people were throwing orcs into his path as a way of finishing off the opponent. Beorn didn’t seem to mind trampling over the orcs and occasionally swiping a paw out to eviscerate an orc.

Bilbo held on tighter as he saw the cliff appear, but before he could contemplate the height all that much they had already cleared it and he could hear the bleating of rams. Beorn slid to a halt and Bilbo quickly threw himself off. He landed wrong and had to roll to avoid impaling himself on his sword. Beorn grunted and Bilbo waved him off. Beorn wasted no time jumping off the rocks to return to battle. Bilbo clutched his sword close to him as he snuck around the hill top. It was silent for the most part. The rams had been abandoned and he could see the foot prints of dwarves in the snow. He kept his ears open as he swiveled his head around looking for any sign of his dwarves. A large rock fell behind him and skittered to his toes as he whipped around in time to see an orc falling to the ground with an arrow in his head. Bilbo saw Legolas dropping from the sky as he sheathed another arrow. On the rocks he saw a red headed elf running along the edge, but he didn’t know their name. Legolas rolled much more gracefully than he had off of Beorn and walked up to Bilbo.

“Did you see Thorin while you were up there?” Bilbo frantically asked.

“I saw him dueling with Azog on the iced over waterfall.” He didn’t get much else before Legolas released his arrow behind Bilbo. He heard the arrow crack against armor and Bilbo whipped around to see Bolg racing towards them. “Go!” Legolas commanded as he pulled out his swords and blocked Bolg’s attack. Bilbo didn’t have to be told twice. He raced off to where he saw the waterfall on his way up. The cold began to numb the few injuries he had sustained, but felt like his lungs were freezing from the icy air. He kept an eye on Sting to sense where Thorin might be. He didn’t notice his footing and slipped as he took his first step on the ice. He barely caught himself, but slid to the opposite side and crashed into an alcove of rocks. His eyes went dark for a second before his vision returned and he went as fast as he could off the ice, the blue tint of his sword breaking through the blackness in his eyes. Bilbo slid on the ice, this time more controlled and dug into his pocket as he heard the sound of swords dueling. He slipped on his magic ring as he skidded across the ice and Thorin and Azog came into view. He could hear the eagles screeching overhead and his heart leapt at the thought. But he didn’t let himself celebrate too early as he saw Azog standing over Thorin with his bladed arm inching closer to Thorin’s chest. Bilbo panted heavily as he summoned up the last of his strength to run the distance to Thorin. _Don’t give up yet, I’m almost there._ His mind repeated as he got closer until he was less than a foot from Azog. He ripped off the ring and screamed as his blade sliced through Azog’s chest.

Azog stumbled back in bewilderment and pain. Thorin gasped as the pressure was released from his arms and he rolled out of the way just as Bilbo was putting the rest of his weight into Azog. Azog kept stumbling backwards until Bilbo noticed that he was at the edge of the waterfall. Seemingly realizing this Azog used the last of his strength to grab Bilbo and throw them both off the edge of the waterfall.

xXx

Kili heard the anguished cry from his spot in the tunnel. His brother next to him. They barely made it out of the tunnels if it wasn’t for Dain blocking the tunnel leading to them. Once they came out of it they met back up with Dwalin and finished off the last of the goblins that had appeared.

“Bilbo!” The broken yell echoed in the halls. All three dwarves looked at each other and ran off to locate the source of the scream.

“The ice!” Dwalin hollered back at them and Fili and Kili ran as fast as their legs could carry them. They all slipped on the ice and tumbled in to a pile in the middle of the frozen over river. They could still hear the sound of arrows whispering past them, but they couldn’t pay any attention to that as they saw Thorin kneeling at the ledge of the waterfall.

Before any of them could ask any questions a shadow passed in front of them followed by enormous wings. Wings that had carried them so long ago on their journey. The eagle screeched as it rose. Kili thought he saw the makings of a large hat on the eagle, but realized that it was Gandalf.

“Bilbo!” Thorin anguished again, this time with relief haunting his tone. The eagle landed on the ice for a moment as Gandalf got off the massive bird and pulled an unconscious body with him. Kili’s heart stopped as he looked at the Hobbit in Gandalf’s arms. Fili and Kili went running to the wizard but was beaten by Thorin. The eagle took off, but just before it could disappear from sight, Dain jumped from his spot on the tower with a bellow.

“We should have more fun like this more often, Thorin! Take me back to the battle!” Dain landed on the eagle and the eagle screeched again before soaring off to the battlefield. Gandalf set Bilbo down onto the ice as the dwarves surrounded him.

“Give him some space, he most likely got the wind knocked out of him from falling so hard onto the eagle lord.” Gandalf shooed the dwarves back with the end of his staff. Sure enough once they had taken a few steps back, Bilbo gasped loudly and sat bolt upright.

“Bilbo!” All of them cried at once. Bilbo was coughing fiercely and wincing. He had blood coating his hair and face, but they could tell it was of orcish origin. His hands looked to be the worse from their perspective, but they would need to save the examination for Oin. Kili could see tears in Bilbo’s eyes as he continued to cough and regain his breath. Thorin knelt down next to him and held the back of his head in his hand. The other grabbed Bilbo’s hand firmly. Before any words were said Bilbo reached out and slapped Thorin with a resounding crack. Everyone stiffened, Fili and Kili both holding back laughter, but Dwalin was nigh about to send Bilbo back over the cliff. Thorin let go of Bilbo’s other hand and rubbed at his face where Bilbo struck him.

“Thorin Oakenshield ‘Oaf Under the Mountain’ if you every think about locking me in a room again against my will I will personally put you in chains and send you to the bottom of Laketown along with Smaug’s rotten corpse!” Bilbo huffed as he knocked Thorin’s other hand from the back of his head and attempted to stand up. Kili let a small laugh slip out causing Bilbo to look at him and his brother. He saw tears in his eyes when he looked at them. “Boys!” Bilbo got up and hurled himself at the dwarves. Fili and Kili caught him and Kili held onto the Hobbit tightly. Dwalin moved to help shoulder their uncle as he looked to be bleeding from his foot. Gandalf chortled and looked out over the waterfall. Bilbo pulled back and put a hand on either of their cheeks. “Come now, we’ve got a war to win.”

xXx

In reality there wasn’t much more they could do. Thranduil and Bard had managed to clear out Dale and with the eagles and Beorn finishing off the ground troops there was little more to tend to now that Azog and Bolg were both dead. Whatever leadership the orcs were following fell to pieces and who ever wasn’t dead ran off in every direction, to be hunted down for sport once they regained their strength. They all managed to get down to the battle field in one piece and as they touched ground a chorus of cheers went up all around them. Elves and dwarves were whooping and hollering as they watched the goblins and orcs scatter. Those still on rams chased them down and picked them off as best they could. Thranduil could be seen standing on the wall of Dale, having cleared the last troll from the city. The elves looked in his direction as the Dwarves looked at Thorin and Dain.

Bilbo held onto Fili as they walked across the battle field. Bodies littered the desolation and the ground was soggy with blood. Bilbo would be cleaning mud from his feet for weeks after this. Fili leaned heavily against him as the cut on his leg didn’t abate. Bilbo saw a flag sticking up out of an orc and ripped it off its staff to wrap tightly around Fili’s leg. The cheers continued on. Bilbo still felt uneasy, but he would let the masses revel. They won a seemingly unwinnable war after all. Once Fili was wrapped up he thanked Bilbo and they wandered to the gates of Erebor. A group of dwarves had already started on finishing opening up the gates of debris. A few elves and men could be seen helping as well. Bilbo set Fili down on a rock and looked around at the battlefield. He prayed he didn’t recognize anyone laying in the muddy field. After a moment, Bilbo started to help to remove debris and grant access to the Lonely Mountain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More to come, tune in next chapter for some feeling conversations, bed rest, and some nosy nephews.  
> PS I am looking for a beta reader, so if anyone is up to the job they would need to be interested in Bagginshield, Destiel, and MSR. That's basically all I write about now. I mean if you don't vibe with all of them I'd be okay with that too.


	3. Everything You Touch Turns to Gold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I moved to Alaska! It was crazy. I drove for five days through the West Coast of America and then two provinces of Canada to get here, but I am here. Also it was my husband, myself, six cats, and two ferrets shoved into a truck towing my entire life behind me. And then the lower 48 completely imploded and now it feels like I live in another country that's how isolated I am from the rest of the world, but at least I have wifi! If you have decided to use my story as a place to take a break from craziness of the world, thank you. If you are a loyal fan who has been reading my stories for a while now, also thank you. And all others I thank you.

It took several days for all the wounded and able bodies to scour the battlefield for anyone that was in need of assistance. Bodies of orcs were piled up and humans, elves, and dwarves were pulled out of the wreckage and laid in rows at the gates of Erebor. There were several teams, those who went out searching for their dead comrades, those who were cleaning the bodies and covering them from onlookers and being eaten by nearby wildlife, those who were too ill to help and were thus put in tents within Erebor to be taken care of, those who were able, but still too injured to be out in the war zone and thus helping the healers, and then there were those who were healing or disposing of the orc bodies that littered the desolation between Erebor and Dale. The women and children were kept in Dale until they could pass through the war without seeing potentially someone they might recognize on their way to Erebor where they would take shelter. Thranduil was mostly in charge of the healers within Erebor’s walls. Bard was making sure the women and children were seen too. His soldiers that stayed were under command of whoever found them most able, most of them were stuck with Thranduil as they were some of the most injured population of the war. Dain was in charge of anyone else, whether that be the people moving into Erebor, the people finding fallen soldiers, or people who had come back from hunting trips for the runaway orcs. Thorin was abled, but being led around by crutches didn’t apply yourself to being able to search for dead companions. As much as he disliked it, he was to sit with Thranduil as they discussed finances between Thranduil treating the ill and Thorin being the ill.

Bilbo found himself knee deep in bloodied dirt fishing for weapons and body parts with Kili and Gloin. Oin was disposed to the medical tents with Fili and Thorin. They managed to not lose any of the company which Bilbo was immensely relieved about. While Bifur and Ori had come close, both with deep wounds which left them with less of them than before, they had survived and were expected to make a full recovery. Ori had lost a few toes and would have a large scar across his left shoulder while Bifur had distinct teeth marks on his face from an unsavory interaction with a warg. Bilbo had part of someone’s shirt wrapped around his mouth and nose as he was elbow deep in the mud pulling at what he thought was a hand. Despite his unceremonious drop from the falls he was one of the least wounded of the company. Therefore he volunteered to do some of the most atrocious work. He felt hands go around his middle as Kili grabbed him and pulled him deep from the mud, taking the body with them. It was an orc. Kili helped him carry it over to a pile nearby of other orc bodies and toss it on the mass. They went back to searching for more of their allies. Kili had a gash on his eye that was swelling with each day, but Bilbo helped put a salve on it to avoid infection as they dug around in the dirt. As soon as the battle was finished Gandalf disappeared to do his wizardly business and declared that he would be back ‘by the time Bilbo was ready to go back to Bag End’.

Bilbo looked on at the massive battlefield in front of them and wondered if he’d ever return to Bag End at this rate. He didn’t know if he even wanted to. He looked at Kili crying as he pulled a dwarf from underneath a ram, wondering why he would leave his family here after all this. He left Kili to carry the dwarrow back to the many rows of other dead as Bilbo grabbed the nearby weapons that were littered around the ram. Some of this was still salvageable and would be a complete waste given that soon enough the forges would be up and any and all metal would be a welcome sight.

After Oin checked him over and gave him bandages for his hands, Bilbo hadn’t been back to the medical tents. He had been on the battlefield every day for the past week gathering the dead and weapons. He had been blatantly ignoring Thorin as Thorin was not allowed to leave the medical tents with the sword wound in his foot. Mud consisting of blood and dirt would no doubt infect his wounded foot. And the fact his nephews would not be privy to any conning by their uncle from the last time he was with them he had treated them like they weren’t his own blood. Fili was relieved to see his uncle had been saved by Bilbo, but otherwise distanced himself from his uncle while his leg healed in a tent several rows down from Thorin.

“Bilbo!” Someone called to him from across the way. He looked up from the entrails of the warg and saw Gloin heaving with several other elves and dwarves to try and roll a troll over to inspect for bodies. Bilbo rushed over, tossing what he had in his hand in a neat pile as he attempted to run in the sludgy dirt. He found a spot next to Gloin and they all pushed with great effort, more hands coming to help as they saw the struggle the group was having. Finally the troll rolled over and there was a single human form underneath it. Someone next to Bilbo called out in anguish and sobbed as the fell forward. Gloin pat Bilbo’s back and everyone dispersed save for a few humans who were helping the grieving man carry the dead man. Who thought that the most tactical part of a war was the aftermath? Bilbo went back to his pile of weapons and made his way to the entrance of Erebor where they had another group of abled people who were injured but couldn’t be on the battlefield sorting what could be salvaged for another attack or used for repairing Erebor. Bilbo saw Bofur and Nori digging around in the pile. Bofur was sweating while he sat near a few swords and Bilbo didn’t think it was from the heat. One of Bofur’s arm had a nasty gash in it which restricted him to a sling. Bilbo saw Nori was rubbing around an eye patch trying not to scratch at the wound. How a spy would operate with a single eye he couldn’t know for sure, at least he couldn’t know his effectiveness, but Bilbo was excited to see what the dwarves had in mind for a replacement eye for him. He wondered if they would etch something in Khuzdul about the war or if Nori would etch something overly ridiculous that would only be understood if you popped the whole eye out in itself. Bilbo gently placed the weapons on the ground and gave a pensive smile to Bofur. Bofur gave him a grimace back, but he knew it wasn’t for lack of excitement to see him. Having your arm gnawed on by a warg would put anyone in an early grave, he knew from experience.

“Bilbo.” Gave a heavy breathed response. “Good to see you lad.” Nori turned his entire head to look at Bilbo with his good eye. “You lost weight, you look about half your size.” Nori gave a sly tilt of his lips.

“I’ll try to take it as a compliment, Nori.” Bilbo waved them off as he continued to the battlefield. It was beginning to look like the original ravine they had traversed oh so many nights ago. Bilbo saw Kili jogging his way to his side.

“There you are.” Kili took a moment to catch his breath and winced at the pain his own injuries caused by the way he was standing. “Thorin has been requesting you all morning and Thranduil has had enough of his grumbling.” Kili leaned heavily to one side, but tried not to let Bilbo see. The eye that wasn’t swollen closed looked around him nervously as he tried to hide his exhaustion. Bilbo scoffed at him.

“And I am not his to beck and call. He may wait as long as I see fit for what he did, to you as well Kili.” Bilbo walked over and put a hand on Kili’s shoulder. His beard was starting to come in and Bilbo wondered if it was age or the sight of his first battle that kick started the dark haired dwarves ascent into social recognition.

“Ah, yes, then you should at least tell Thranduil yourself. I didn’t see where his messenger ran off to.” Kili made a weak attempt to point at his eye, but stopped himself. Bilbo patted him gently on the chin and nodded.

“Will you be alright with Gloin?” Kili nodded. Bilbo thought back to the young dwarf he had first met in his almost too small doorway. He may not be heir apparent, but he was looking ever more royal with each day. Not that Thorin didn’t have a long time to live, but Bilbo might have something to say to that if he kept up his chaotic antics. He would track down Balin if he wasn’t busy dealing with a fussy king and helping teach the heir how not to behave as an aristocrat. Kili started off towards Gloin who was hollering with good nature as a few other dwarves and men found a particularly stubborn orc body in the mud. Bilbo bowed his head as he passed the rows and rows of bodies that littered the front gates. He didn’t notice the rot anymore, and he wondered if that was a good thing or a bad thing. He made his way to the medical tents that had replaced the sleeping arrangements that they previously occupied in the court. Bilbo felt the ache in his bones as he started to slow down from his fast paced work out in the battlefield. He could see the white Elven flags come into view and he thought he might stop in to ask Oin for some more poultice for Kili and maybe something to help with the itching in his hands, if the dwarf didn’t have his hands already full with wounded soldiers. Bilbo didn’t even think he could call half of them soldiers, the elves yes, but the men of Dale and previously Laketown were hardly fighters. It was no surprise a majority of them were the ones that were either injured or laying under white sheets at the gates of a mountain that they will hold no claim over. If nothing else should Erebor thrive as a kingdom with Thorin at its throne than ample compensation should be given to the people of Dale or the kingdom might not have been reclaimed at all. Before he could reach the largest tent, which no doubt held Thorin, Thranduil threw open the curtain in frustration, nearly kicking Bilbo as he took long strides to escape the tent.

“Oh, Thain.” Bilbo sidestepped Thranduil as he came to a full stop. Bilbo waved his hand at Thranduil as he removed the cloth around his face.

“No need for niceties, Thranduil.” Thranduil didn’t look any less frustrated by his comment. “All well?” Bilbo said, knowing full well the answer.

“Some patients seem to require much more attention for their otherwise less than life threatening wounds than others.” Bilbo put his cloth in his pocket and nodded in sympathy. “I apologize for nearly running you over, Bilbo, but I have patients to see to that actually require my attention.” Bilbo waved him on without any grievance and proceeded to make his way to the tent again when Balin came rushing out. Bilbo huffed in frustration.

“Balin.”

“Bilbo.” They both said at the same time. A look of shock on Balin’s face calmed to a more neutral albeit vexed countenance. “I was just going to come looking for you.”

“I can assume why.” Balin gave him a pained smile and grabbed Bilbo’s shoulder. He started to lead Bilbo away from the tent and towards some smaller tents. Bilbo could see Oin racing in and out of a few of them. It was the fastest Bilbo had ever seen the older dwarf move and he doubted he would be able to get Kili some poultice for his eye let alone for his hands. He tried to ignore the way they stung and itched under his wrappings.

“The king has been a tad,” Balin sighed dramatically for a man of his position. “Well, I don’t really have a way to describe it.” The pair of them stepped aside as Oin came barging at them from one of the tents with his hands full of wrappings. Bilbo thought he saw Thranduil in one of the rooms that Oin just exited. There was an elf in the cot and his entire head and shoulders were wrapped in stained gauze. Bilbo sent a prayer to Yavanna that the elf heal and live out their extraordinary long life in peace.

“Bilbo! Don’t let me forget to give you some more salve for Kili’s eye and to give you fresh gauze for your hands!” Oin seemed to forget that he was the one who was hard of hearing and not middle aged hobbit. Balin made a sign to Oin in their secretive signal language to which Oin grunted at.

“I’ll be sure to send you to him once we’re done speaking.” Balin put his hands behind his back as his brow furrowed at the ground. They continued walking for some time down the many tents.

“This implies there’s some speaking to be done? Specifically with or about me?” Balin looked at him with a haunted look.

“I’m afraid so lad.” He stopped in front of a tent and held the flap open for Bilbo. Bilbo ducked his head down and entered to see Ori sprawled out on a cot and Bifur sitting up to have Bombur feed him careful spoonfuls of soup. Dwalin was kneeling next to Ori’s cot, but barely gave more than a passing glance when Bilbo and Balin entered. Dwalin looked as if to be praying at the young dwarrow's side, but he couldn't be sure. He had his head bowed and the knee that wasn't on the ground held his hands in an odd formation. Ori had his eyes closed to the whole scene, but had his hands folded intricately on his stomach. He opened his eyes briefly to see who had entered the tent. He unfolded his hands when he saw it was Bilbo, offering the arm opposite to Dwalin for him to take. Bilbo went to Ori’s other side and grabbed the young dwarf’s hand.

“Bilbo. I’m so glad to see you in one piece.” Ori looked like he wanted to sit up, but a stern look from Bilbo and Dwalin had the injured dwarf staying prone. “You hadn’t been swallowed up by the swamp out there.” Bilbo chuckled.

“No, you can’t get out of helping me find the library that easily.” Ori gave a genuine smile, one he hadn’t seen on anyone’s faces without a tint of pain since before the battle.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Bilbo patted the back of Ori’s hand and turned to Bifur.

“Too bad you won’t have any warg teeth to decorate your axe with.” Bilbo offered up. Bifur attempted a grin, but the bandages on his face barely showed his lips, so Bilbo assumed it was a grin. It was punctuated by Bifur digging around in his pockets to show Bilbo a few warg canines. Bilbo picked one up and it was nearly the size of a few of his fingers. It hadn’t been properly cleaned yet, but after all Bilbo had seen on the battlefield, a few bloodied teeth hardly fazed him now. “I’m sure these would look good inset with some gems.” Bifur made a few signs to Bombur and Bombur chuckled in response.

“He says ‘he’s going to put it in the blade of his axe so people can distinguish him from the other dwarves with axes in their head’.” Bilbo pressed his lips together in a smile. “Good seeing you Bilbo. I’ll come by the battlefield later and get’ye guys some stew.” Bilbo had forgotten about food until the moment he saw Bombur feeding Bifur. Bilbo returned the warg tooth and looked around the room. All eyes were on him.

“So, the speaking you were mentioning, Balin?” Balin looked at Dwalin and he thought for a moment he saw fear cross Balin’s features. It was a fraction of a moment, but it was most definitely fear.

“Something’s wrong with Thorin.” Balin sat down in an empty cot at the corner of the tent. Bilbo didn’t know if the presence of an empty cot was a good sign or a bad sign, but he chose not to dwell on it for too long.

“You mean besides potentially putting his entire company at risk looking for a blasted stone? Yes, that would be an indicator of wrongness.” Bilbo huffed crossing his arms. “Least of all locking me in a room with no exit while a battle raged on outside.” Bilbo felt his hands itch at the thought of the cold metal of the coins against his fingers.

“Yes, that is an unfortunate aspect of his illness.” Bilbo tilted his head at Balin.

“That blasted orc’s head hasn’t been willing to do anything about the voyage heading for Erebor in the spring, let alone set out correspondence that Erebor has been reclaimed or any of the logistics of dealing with elves, humans, and dwarves within the halls of Erebor.” Dwalin burst out. He stood up with his arms crossed and Bilbo could see how tired he was under his gruff mask.

“And he ain’t eaten nothing I’ve gone and brought him.” Bombur put the spoon in the bowl a little too forcefully. “I’an’t got the resources I usually have, but a cook’s ego can only take so many blows.” Bilbo turned to Bombur and saw the ginger dwarf’s face turn a similar shade of red as his hair.

“Thankfully no one will give him crutches, for if they do he would no doubt be scouring the mountain for you rather than taking care of his kingly duties.” Bilbo’s face scrunched up in confusion.

“Me?” Bilbo let his arms fall at his side as he listened to the dwarves. “Why?” Balin and Dwalin shared another look.

“Thorin’s grandfather went mad.” Bilbo hardly had the forethought to not ask how his grandfather going mad had anything to do with Thorin’s sudden obsession with Bilbo’s everywhere about. “The gold hoarded in the mountain, the same gold that summoned a dragon to its halls, drove Thror mad with greed.” Bilbo nodded along as Balin tried to explain. “When we got here we worried that Thorin too would be afflicted by this ‘gold sickness’ as his grandfather, thus his demand for the Arkenstone to be found, but…” Bilbo was starting to see the picture that Balin’s dots were pointing at.

“You think, maybe, I am the cause for his sickness?” Bilbo wanted to sit down, but he would feel terrible to take a cot from one of the injured dwarves in the room.

“We don’t know, exactly, yet.” Balin dragged out each word with a shake of his head. Dwalin scoffed and leaned against one of the posts holding the tent up. “We don’t want to do anything that might harm you or him.” Bilbo stiffened. He thought about how Thorin had lashed out at his own kin to drag Bilbo off.

“But you have something planned?” Bilbo watched as Bombur excused himself and Bifur laid down with his back to the rest of them, presumably to sleep off the soup he just received.

“We might, but we thought we would get your plans now that Erebor has been taken and you’ve received your 1/14th share of the reward.” Bilbo thought about the Arkenstone that would no doubt stay in Dale until the end of days. He hoped it would get thrown in the lake where Smaug now rot.

“My plans.” Bilbo didn’t know his plans himself. The thought of leaving the closest family he had seemed daunting and sorrowful, but he had business to attend to in the Shire that would no doubt take several months. Especially if he had to spend any amount of time reclaiming Bag End and it’s interior had he been dubbed ‘deceased’. “Yes, my plans.” Bilbo didn’t say with any more clarity. Balin and Dwalin looked at him expectantly. “Well, I haven’t got any.”

“Do you plan on staying in Erebor, lad?” Bilbo didn’t really know how to respond.

“I don’t want to go, but I can’t…stay.” Bilbo floundered for a way to respond that didn’t make him look like a loon that followed 14 dwarves to a nearly unwinnable mountain and his only plan was that he wasn’t going to return therefore he wouldn’t have to think of what happened had he survived the venture. The crease above Balin’s eyes did not abate. He was sure it had grown in depth since embarking on this trip.

“Well that clears everything up doesn’t it.” Dwalin remarked from his spot.

“Then we will proceed as if you are going to stay.” Bilbo assumed that would be the best course of action at this point. “Now that that’s decided, our course of action, as suggested by Oin, is to keep Thorin as far away from you as possible to see if being away will abate his…ailment.” Bilbo didn’t know how to feel about being prescribed as an ‘ailment’.

“Seems, reasonable. But I sense that that may not be the end of it?” Balin took a deep breath.

“While we hope that he will…get this out of his system so to speak, there is a chance he may only get worse to a point where he may not recover.” Bilbo sucked in a breath.

“We won’t know which it is either.” Bilbo said on the exhale, he barely could get the words out without feeling a tightening in his chest. The thought of losing Thorin not to battle but to a disease of the mind is almost more heartbreaking. A king reduced to lunacy, and he wasn’t entirely sure what hand he had in helping that along either.

“The thing is, dwarrow have a ‘One’,” Balin looked guilty divulging so much information to an outsider. But it didn’t seem to be avoidable. “A soul mate of sorts. Some dwarrow never meet their One’s, while some dwarrow find their ‘One’ in their craft. Other’s find their ‘One’ and we have customs for when that happens, but…” Bilbo wasn’t sure he’d ever seen Balin so hesitant with anything. He looked exhausted simply from explaining. “We don’t have many records of One’s being from other races, you see. And on top of that we don’t know if this is Thorin reacting to the presence of his ‘One’,” Balin motioned to Bilbo. “Or if the dragon cursed the gold to make the next owner of it drive himself made with obsession, or if it isn’t a bit of both.” Bilbo felt his head spin at the several avenues that this conversation has taken.

“And if it is an instance of a One then if we separate Thorin from you for too long, it will literally break his spirit.” Bilbo began to pace between Ori and Bifur’s cot, both of which had tired themselves out from the conversation alone and were peacefully sleeping the life altering news away.

“I – “ Bilbo cut himself off. He didn’t know what to say. Hobbits don’t have the idea of a ‘One’. They were simple folk who married when it was convenient. Love was in marriages, but love was given freely and hardly ever held in the highest of standards. If a spouse died it was very common to remarry. Widows were far and few between in the Shire. With the standard to have several children, a single parent was nearly out of the question.

“What would happen if we didn’t keep ourselves separated?” Balin took a moment to breath now that they have stumbled away from the culture of the dwarrow they kept so close to their hearts, literally.

“If it’s a curse by Smaug then it would only get worse, once Thorin has his object of desire he would simply fall into the curse full force.” Bilbo nodded.

“And if – “ He swallowed deeply a this next words. “ – was Thorin’s One?” Bilbo was shaking a little in his hands and he held them behind his back to hide it.

“Then we would have to commence the proper ceremonies, and you wouldn’t be allowed to leave Erebor without Thorin, or at least his permission, or for any extended amount of time.” Bilbo must have shown something in his face because Balin stepped forward with a sigh. “A dwarf’s One is more than just the love of their life, it’s the other half to their soul. To have found the other half of your soul only to have it leave you is traumatic and often fatal for both parties. In the cases where they are both dwarrow, of course.” Bilbo grimaced.

“Of course.” Bilbo said in mock approval. He put his hands in his hair and walked away from Balin. “This is not the conversation I thought we were going to be having, so forgive me for being distraught.” Bilbo managed. He paced several times in front of Ori and Bifur’s cots before he stopped in front of Balin. “I’m assuming you are looking for me to approve of a course of action.” Dwalin shrugged out of the corner of Bilbo’s eye. “Can I make my decision by tomorrow?” Balin’s face looked unreadable.

“Tonight would be preferable as his foot injury won’t keep him down forever and the sooner we set plans in motion the easier in the long run.” Bilbo sighed and gave a resigned nod.

“Alright, I think I’ll have some answer for you by tonight.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will hopefully have the next chapter up tomorrow, I feel inspired.


	4. A Battle of the Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What if Thorin survived and Bilbo married him as consort and then when Frodo's parents died he moved all the way across Arda to live with his Dwarf-Consort Uncle and then was given the ring when he came of age, but Frodo grew up in Erebor and started the Fellowship from there having been raised with Fili and Kili and Dis and loving uncles Bilbo and Thorin? Bilbo would have been able to live his long long life thanks to the ring right next to his king and then Fili would take over and who knows maybe the fellowship included Kili and Gimli.  
> Am I really contemplating rewriting Lord of the Rings from this perspective.... Someone stop me I have so many ideas and too many mental illnesses to find motivation to finish them.  
> Anyways, here's your promised chapter. It got pushed back because I had a surprise visit from my landlord so I had to quickly find a way to hide my six cats and two ferrets.

Bilbo watched absently as Oin rewrapped his hand as he processed the information that had been thrown at him just a few moments ago. How could he be something he didn’t even know existed? And if he wasn’t, while Thorin had been acting oddly the entirety of the last leg of the trip, Bilbo had still saved his life twice and that usually left a mark on people. He didn’t even want to go on this trip to begin with. Why was he suddenly in the middle of the massively complicated conspiracy involving a king he doesn’t even swear fealty to. He didn’t know how true that statement was anymore given that he had to keep reminding himself that he had risked his life twice now to save Thorin, and if it weren’t for Gandalf, he wouldn’t have survived the second one. Who knew how many more were to come if he even stayed here with Thorin. For a king and warrior he was highly prone to near life threatening situations. Whether it involves orcs or a potential marriage that may either be the cause of a soul bond or a curse put on an entire mountain of gold. How good would Thorin be as a husband if he was always finding himself lying flat on his back with a sword in his face?

At the thought of Thorin as his husband he blushed furiously and went to jerk his hand to his face, but Oin stopped him with his wrappings. The thought of blushing so heavily in front of Oin while he wrapped his bandaged hands from said ‘husband’s last attempt at ‘courting’ only made him blush more and wish he could cover his face.

“You coming down with a fever lad?” Oin stopped mid-wrap as he observed Bilbo’s face. Bilbo was quick to shake his head no and he feared how his voice might sound or before he said anything that the older dwarf might misinterpret without his hearing horn. “Ah, alright, keep an eye on your hands while you’re out in the field now; can’t have you losing your hands after the battle.” Bilbo nodded and Oin finished wrapping his hands. He reached over to hand Bilbo a small jar of ointment. “’Fer Kili.” Bilbo nodded again. His words were tied up in the wrappings of his hands as his mind continued to wander, unable to focus on the happenings right in front of him. He held the salve in his hands as he stared at the ground while Oin put away his utensils. Before Oin could leave Bilbo jerked back to the present and jumped to his feet,

“Where is Fili?” Oin leaned closer to him with his ‘good’ ear. “Fili.” Bilbo tried a little louder. Oin grunted and nodded, he made a motion with his finger to follow him and Bilbo dutifully did so. He made sure to pocket the salve and flexed his hands a little as they adjusted to the new wrappings. Oin pointed to a tent a few rows down and Bilbo thanked him before heading towards Fili’s tent. He could hear sounds all around him as people were in pain and healers were running around on limited resources trying to help as much as they could while they watched their supplies dwindle. Just as he was almost to Fili’s tent he heard a familiar voice, or at least it would have been familiar given the owner of the voice, but the illness that overtook them had disguised their voice to almost unrecognizable. What alerted Bilbo was that the voice was calling his name, if just faintly. Bilbo turned heel and walked slowly to pinpoint the location. He was sure that he had imagined the entire thing had he not heard it several moments later, still faint, but closer. They must have moved Thorin at Thranduil’s request. Sometime away from the injured king might do them both some good. Still it was a tent two canvass’ down from Fili’s and he walked to the opening. He thought about entering, but he thought back to what Balin had said. They didn’t know what this was and if Bilbo was wrong he could only hurt the king. He tried to see if Balin or Dwalin were in the tent, but the canvas was slightly too thick to peer through. Bilbo steeled his resolve, if Balin or Dwalin were in the tent he would simply apologize and say he was looking for Fili’s tent. He took a deep breath and barely opened the tent enough to slip inside. The whole tent was empty save for a single cot. There was no lantern thus the dimly lit room relied on the lanterns around it for any amount of light. In the faint glow Bilbo was able to distinguish that, save for the dwarf on the cot in front of him, he was entirely alone. Bilbo felt all resolve melt away as he saw Thorin sleeping on the cot in front of him.

He braced himself to take a step forward and when he wasn’t immediately set ablaze on the spot he dared another until he was standing over Thorin. His back was to him and he looked to be in a fitful sleep. His face was covered by his hair, but Bilbo could tell he was sleeping. He wasn’t wearing the usual attire, but rather a simple tunic and presumably some pants. The sight of him in such a state of undress made the entire interaction foreign to him. The dwarf in front of him wasn’t a king, he was injured and sick and Bilbo somehow was at the middle of all of it, but they didn’t know how, and what he was doing now could potentially risk what little sanity the king had left. That didn’t stop him from reaching out and grabbing a stray lock of hair. He had never actually felt the hair on Thorin’s head. Let alone much else on him. Save for the few moments where Thorin had put his hands on him, Bilbo had never initiated the touching between them. The hair was surprisingly clean, as if it had been washed within the last day and it smelt like the earth around them. Not the earth of the battlefield, but the earth of the mountain, of a cave full of riches. Bilbo didn’t remember the last time he himself had had a bath. He was sure he smelt like dead orc from spending so long out in the mud. He twirled the hair between his fingers as he listened to Thorin’s breathing. It came out in slow steady rhythms that were unknown to Bilbo. Since the battle he had nightmares that made him toss and turn at night and then he would go back out on the battlefield and repeat the entire process over again.

“Bilbo.” Came a soft voice in the otherwise quiet tent. Bilbo froze as he waited for more to come out of Thorin’s mouth, but he stayed silent. Bilbo let go of the strand of hair and stood watching over Thorin. He wasn’t any closer to making up his mind about whether he would leave Erebor or stay. He wasn’t even sure of what he was going to do once he left the confines of this tent. He knew he needed to see Fili as the last time he had seen him was when they announced their victory and Fili had collapsed next to him which sent Kili and Bilbo into a frenzy to get him to the medical tents that had just started to get put up. It had felt like months since the battle had ended. Bilbo’s body still looked bumped and bruised and scraped from the war, but his mind was years gone from the battle.

Bilbo thought he had lingered at the king’s bed side long enough as he started to turn away to the entrance. Just before he could Thorin sat up abruptly and with eyes wide opened looked at the entrance to the tent. Bilbo froze solid as he looked at Thorin’s eyes for signs that he had been recognized. The eyes he looked into bore no familiarity in themselves. Thorin’s normally icy blue gaze was strikingly yellow and shone in the darkness. Bilbo gasped at the sight when they suddenly trained on him. In their path to stare at Bilbo they shifted rapidly from scorching yellow to the vibrant blue. Bilbo covered his mouth as he watched the scene in front of him. Suddenly the tent was too warm and Bilbo felt himself start to sweat despite the usual cool of the mountain. Finally Thorin’s eyes settled on his usual blue and just as quickly as he had sat up, he lay back down and closed his eyes. Bilbo ran as quickly as he could out of the tent and hurriedly cleared the distance between Thorin’s tent and Fili’s. Bilbo burst into Fili’s tent a little roughly as he still had his hand on his mouth and tried to hide the way he was panting. His heart was beating at his ribs so hard he clenched his chest to alleviate some of the pain. Fili turned in his cot as he took in Bilbo’s appearance.

“Bilbo?” Fili got to his feet rather slowly and carefully walked over to Bilbo. He had his hands out in a placating motion and when he was in arm’s distance of Bilbo he put them on the hobbit’s shoulders. Bilbo felt tears well up in his eyes as he looked at Fili. “Are you alright, Bilbo?” Fili searched Bilbo’s face for something that might hint at the sudden hobbit’s strange appearance. Bilbo felt a tear slide down his cheek as he nodded to indicate that he was alright. Fili raised an eyebrow, but started to lead Bilbo to his now vacant cot. They both sat side by side as Bilbo caught his breath. He removed the hand from his mouth and wiped at the silent tears that fell down his face.

“I swear this is not how I intended us to meet with after news that you are well.” Fili gave a weak smile at Bilbo’s attempt at humor. Bilbo was careful in where he put his arms and wrapped Fili in a hug. “You had us rightfully scared after your collapse.” Bilbo felt Fili’s arms wrap around him in return.

“I’m healing well from what Thranduil says.” Bilbo pulled back and looked at Fili for a moment. The color had returned to his face and while he was bandaged on his arm from palm to shoulder, he did look better. “What’s got you riled up, Bilbo?” Bilbo took a deep breath as he put his hands in his lap.

“Oh where to begin, Fili.” The sight of Thorin’s eyes rapidly shifting colors was still seared into his mind. “Balin thinks that I am the cause of your uncle’s illness.” Fili on his part didn’t look taken aback which Bilbo didn’t know whether to take as a good sign or a bad sign.

“They think you’re his One.” Bilbo couldn’t hid his shock all that well as Fili. Hearing it from Fili’s mouth made something sharp twist in Bilbo’s chest. “It’s not the biggest secret.” Fili tried to play off his inquisition.

“I think you should inform your brother for all of us then because he may be the last to know.” Bilbo nudged Fili gently. “Besides myself, of course.” Bilbo looked down at his hands, the bandages starting to itch his hands again. “Anyways, it might be simpler if it was just that, but of course, once you think you’re rid of a dragon they have a habit of getting more involved than necessary.” Bilbo pulled out the jar of salve for Kili and played with it in his hands. It was better than nothing. “I don’t know what to do, Fee.”

“Well you are staying in Erebor right?” Fili tried to get Bilbo’s attention. When Bilbo didn’t look him in the eyes Fili’s body started to sag. “Right?”

“I don’t know.” There was a long moment of silence. “I honestly didn’t expect to survive the dragon.” Fili grabbed at Bilbo’s hands. “Oh none of that, I was happy with my old life, it just seems like an impossible task to take on a dragon and I’m just a hobbit.”

“You are much more than a hobbit, Bilbo.” Fili had a hard edge to his statement. Bilbo looked up to see tears in Fili’s eyes.

“Fili, I thought you would have known.” Bilbo took in the undone braids in Fili’s hair and wish he knew how to braid to give the prince some semblance of his honor to his appearance.

“Well, in the beginning we thought that, but then we thought you knew that you were Thorin’s One.” Bilbo stood up suddenly.

“Hobbit’s don’t even have that concept.” Bilbo raised his voice a little, but it wasn’t out of anger, just frustration and shock. “How could I know what I can’t even grasp?” Bilbo put the salve back in his pocket and paced in front of Fili. “And what do you mean ‘we’?” Fili looked bashful suddenly. Bilbo eyed Fili with a stern look.

“Well a few of us had tossed the idea around after the Carrock, but we didn’t have any solid proof.” Fili fidgeted with the edge of his tunic under Bilbo’s glare. “It’s not like he was being secretive about it. He would wake us up in the middle of the night to drag our bed rolls from near you to the edge of the group.” Bilbo did remember all those times he woke up cold from the absence of the princes. “The night we were in Laketown he stayed outside your bedroom door all night.” Bilbo took a step back.

“I didn’t know that.” Bilbo had gone to sleep rather unceremoniously and hadn’t done any of his nightly routines that might have identified that he had a sentry at his door. His heart raced at the thought that had he just been a proper Baggins and taken care to get ready for bed he may not have had to sleep alone. Bilbo shook the thought from his mind. Now was not the time for his mind to wander.

“We all thought you would stay after the battle.” Fili sounded heartbroken, but he seemed to understand that although they had assumed ultimately it was Bilbo’s decision and no one could have predicted what the hobbit would have chosen at the end of his quest. Suddenly he jumped to his feet. “If you are still unsure about whether you want to stay here in Erebor, don’t tell Kili. He wants you there to see him be crowned the prince of Erebor.” Bilbo felt his heart break at the thought of Kili talking to his brother about their sudden fourteenth member being amongst the crowd in a rebuilt Erebor as the young prince was finally amongst his people in the kingdom of his family’s name. “I don’t want that to make any decision for you, I just wanted you to know.” Bilbo nodded. Bilbo walked over to Fili and sat down next to him once again. Fili followed his action.

“Thank you for letting me know, Fili.” Bilbo took a deep breath. “I still don’t know what I’m to do about your uncle. I have until tonight to inform Balin of not only my intention to stay but the next course of action for Thorin.”

“My mother would not let Thorin live it down if she wasn’t here to see him get married if that helps in your decision.” Bilbo gave a small grin at that. The thought of meeting the prince’s mother was both exciting and terrifying. If she could raise two boys like Fili and Kili and also contend with Thorin she would be a hell of a dwarrow to contend with.

“I feel like I should inform you that you might have to take your heir apparent lessons very seriously soon. If what is plaguing your uncles mind is sickness from the dragon’s gold then you need to be prepared to take over if he is to be indisposed for any length of time.” Bilbo gave Fili a stern look. Fili responded with a tight nod. “I don’t know if Balin has told you their plans, but I want you to know that you might be needed very shortly and I want you to be ready.” Bilbo took a moment to take in the dwarf in front of him. “I know you’ll do your absolute best.” Fili gulped in front of him and Bilbo gave him a tight hug.

“We will see tonight.”

“Yes, we will.” Bilbo got off the cot and gave the hand that wasn’t bandaged to the shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Get some rest, I’ve got to go see if Gloin hasn’t tossed your brother on an orc pile.” Fili laid down and watched silently as Bilbo left the tent.

xXx

“Well lad?” Balin was sitting in Thranduil’s tent. He looked to be writing up documents. For once Bilbo saw Thranduil, Bard, and Dain in the same room since the start of this. They must have been discussing politics before he had pulled Balin from the tent to speak with him.

“I’m staying.” Bilbo would have been blind if he said he didn’t notice the way some of the tension left Balin’s shoulders. “We’ll start with your plan, just let me know what you need me to do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a little shorter, but I'll make the next one longer. I'll try and get it up by Saturday, I am going to be swamped tomorrow with getting school figured out and applying for jobs, but Saturday will hopefully be the latest the next chapter will be up.


	5. Flowers on Your Grave

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In honor of Ian Holm. I started writing this before the news of his passing but the beginning is very fitting. Rip Mr. Holm you will always be remembered.

After Oin had agreed to let Fili out for some air and sunlight as his wound was healing as planned Bilbo had made sure to be waiting for him at his tent. Today they would be letting the women and children into Erebor as the days started to grow dark early and the weather started to turn sour. It had been about a fortnight since Bilbo decided he would be staying and the kingdom was already starting to look more lively as the injured were healing and the battlefield was cleared of orcs and wargs and goblins. The massive piles of bodies had been burned a week ago and they waited until the stench had died down before letting the woman and children into Erebor. Now they had began working on graves for all of the dead that were still covered in white sheets in front of the gates of Erebor. Fili, Kili, and Bilbo could faintly see them as they were on the back side of Dale where Bilbo had found the only place where flowers had dared to grow. Bofur had been relieved of his picking duties as his arm was out of a sling, but he was restricted to a light work load as he helped pick the flowers and Dori and Kili operated the carts that would hold them. Fili and Bilbo were currently picking at a large bushel of butterfly weed that had made its home in the rocky soil of Dale.

The bright orange flowers were loaded into the carts and soon enough they had several carts full to haul back to Erebor. Bilbo had has bandages off and he had thankfully managed to find time to take a bath amongst the constant work. Bilbo had spent several hours last night sitting in with Thranduil and Bard as Fili helped with the negotiating of politics within the kingdom. What Bilbo knew of Thorin was that his foot was on the mend and the other non major injuries had healed, except for that of his mind. Bilbo had made sure to keep himself as far away from Thorin as possible, which was helped by the fact that Balin and Dwalin had locked him in a room within the mountain which he had no navigation for and had sentry’s posted outside his door in case of an escape. That was all he knew of Thorin’s current predicament. While he had openly opposed the idea of locking a king of a newly won kingdom within said kingdom, Thorin couldn’t be trusted in his current mindset to be left to his own devices. It was almost noon and Bilbo was just starting to break a sweat, the wind had been going the entire time they were out there, creating a chill that wouldn’t break in the sun.

Bilbo put his armful of flowers in the cart and inspected the contents of the carts they had brought.

“I think that’s about enough, Bilbo.” Dori looked at the four cartfuls of flowers and Bilbo had to agree. They had almost taken all of the flowers from the cliff side, something Bilbo couldn’t bring himself to feel guilty for as winter was on the rise and the flowers were starting to shed their petals in the wind. Bilbo nodded and everyone gathered around the carts and began their descent to Erebor. Dori and Kili led the way on their ponies and Fili and Bofur followed behind. Bilbo sat on the back of the cart, not wanting to kick his allergies into high gear by getting on the back of some ponies. From their spot above Dale they could hear the women, children, and elderly humans bustling about the ruined city. He held up a few of the flowers and started to bundle them into neat bouquets. He pulled the ball of twine out of his pocket as the cart swayed from the bumps and dips in the road. He carefully wrapped the bushel and tied it off in a neat pattern. He started to hum as he continued with his work. He craned his neck to look at the other carts full of flowers, he was going to need several more hands if they were to be done by the time the rest of the humans arrived in Erebor.

After the burning of the orcs that left several hands available for work as the shift went from clearing the land to creating places for all involved to stay. Bilbo had been a part of the group clearing rubble from the mountain and making room for all the new occupants that would be arriving shortly. Dain had requested some caravans to trek their way with supplies as they were some of the closest to provide aid. Legolas had returned to Mirkwood in Thranduil’s stead to take the injured that couldn’t be healed in Erebor and to gather supplies for the kingdom. Thranduil stayed behind despite his still hesitance to agree with the king in charge. Not so much that he was in charge anymore as he was sent away to contend with an illness they had no cure for. They didn’t dare get the elf king involved in the healing process should the rumor that Thorin was unwell pass through the large group living amongst the mountain. Bilbo hadn’t heard of any dissent with the four leaders presiding under one kingdom, but the reclamation was still new and the dwarves didn’t have the strength to take on another onslaught, especially not one from within the confines of their own mountain.

Bilbo could hear yelling as they arrived closer to the gates of Erebor. He turned in the wagon and saw the sentry’s on the battlements calling to them, announcing their arrival. Dwalin and Dain were two of the main voices from what Bilbo could distinguish.

“The hobbit has returned! Get yer arses into gear!” Dwalin hollered from his position and several dwarves, men, and elves came out from the gate to patiently wait for the carts to arrive. Bilbo had developed a nice pile of bouquets already as they travelled from the back side of Dale to the gates of Erebor. He finished tying off the last bundle and pocketed the twine. He waited until the carts had slowed before he jumped off the back and ran to the rather large group that had gathered outside Erebor’s gates. He presented the bundle to the group.

“This is what were going for!” Bilbo had to yell to be heard by the large group. This was much more than he had recruited previously, so the people must have spread the word of what he had planned. “I need a group to start bundling and a group to start placing!” Fili, Kili, and Dori grabbed the bundles that Bilbo had already made and were brandishing them as trophies to the crowd. The group started to separate themselves into runners and bundlers. Bilbo went back to the cart and started in his bundling process. Then next couple hours passed in a blur as he helped people tying the twine and he himself lost count of how many bouquets he had made. But by the end, every white sheet outside Erebor had a bouquet of flowers adorning them. The carts had been taken back inside Erebor and several people were kneeling by sheets of people they knew. Dain himself was standing near one on the far end with his head lowered and he was being very still. In the distance Bilbo could see the beginning of the crowd forming from Dale. Bilbo was selfishly thankful he didn’t have to read any of the sheets to look for a lost loved one. He lamented that he hadn’t lost anyone, but he was sure that amongst his company they had lost someone they had known. Fili and Kili stood next to him a little fidgety. They too were too young to know much of any of the dwarves that died in the battle, but they were also prince’s and didn’t know how to proceed further with the situation. They stayed at Bilbo’s side while they waited for Bard to arrive with the rest of his little kingdom.

Finally, the sentry’s announced Bard’s arrival and Bilbo walked down from the battlements to greet them. Bard had come and gone as he was needed for numerous meetings with Thranduil and Dain, but otherwise stayed in Dale. When they arrived at the gates Bilbo expected the anguish of the scene. Women were racing through the aisles of bodies to look for a name they would recognize. The elderly held onto the children and waited just outside the gates. Men from behind Bilbo came running out to greet their wives and sisters and children. Bilbo could barely hold back the silent tears that streamed down his face. Bard helped a few children who had been wandering looking for a father or uncle or someone they knew. The elderly held grandchildren and hugged their sons who had survived. Bard made his way to Bilbo amongst the scene.

“Welcome, officially, to Erebor, Bard.” Bilbo watched as Bard’s children clustered behind him, Tilda looking like she wanted to run back to Dale.

“Did you do this, Bilbo?” Bilbo wiped at his face as he could still feel tears falling down his face. He saw Bard’s eyes were shining as well.

“It was a group effort. Everyone pitched in.” Bard looked around at the scene. The feeling of joy and sadness equal in his expression. He turned back to his children and guided them into Erebor. Bilbo, Fili, and Kili followed suit.

xXx

The rest of Bard’s group had settled nicely into Erebor come nightfall. Bilbo was enjoying a smoke thanks to some pipe weed that Bard had procured as a thank you. He sat with Bofur and Ori atop the battlements as they started their sentry duty. Ori had been cleared for light duty, so Bilbo came along to help, just until his post was relieved early by someone of better health. There was an elf as well to help with the night guards as their eye sight excelled in the dark where the dwarves and men’s faltered. The elf this night was one Bilbo recognized from helping in the duties around the mountain. Bilbo had spoken with him a few times while they shared their work in either removing rubble from the sleeping quarters or carrying resources from Dale to their stock pile room. Bilbo hummed as he thought of the elf’s name. Elatris, he believed. Tonight he sat on a makeshift seat of the battlements and kept watch while Bofur shifted his feet. It was nearly time for Ori to be relieved as Bilbo watched the empty battlefield for signs of life. A few scouts had been sent out to search the perimeter for any goblins or orcs, but so far they had all returned empty handed. Bilbo wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

A few hunting parties had gone during the day to search for food and for the most part they came back with rabbits or a few fish they could catch from traps in the river nearby. A few days ago they had found an elk and whatever wasn’t eaten that night was cured and saved for winter rations. He had even heard Bifur using some of the jaw bone to make a pipe. Bilbo heard steps behind them and a dwarf from Dain’s army came to relieve Ori. Bilbo helped the young dwarf to a standing position. He wished Elatris and Bofur a good night and helped Ori down the steps to the main hall. They were silent as they ventured back to their cots. A few of the tents that once held the injured had been given to some of the younger children and older folks. Once Bilbo was near Ori’s cot he wished him goodnight and ventured to find his own sleeping arrangements. He hardly slept anyway and when he did it was full of nightmares that kept waking him up throughout the night anyways. Bilbo wandered for a little while before he found himself standing on a walkway that crossed over a vast courtyard full to the brim with gold. Bilbo felt a sickening ache in his chest when he looked at the mass of wealth and he doubled back to find somewhere to sleep for the night. As he was making his way back to the sleeping quarters Bilbo was tripped up by someone running straight into him.

“Oh, Bilbo! There you are!” Kili had a large smile on his face and he was holding something in his hands. Which would explain why the young dwarf had run into him in the first place. “My mother sent a letter!” Bilbo turned Kili back towards the direction of some empty cots.

“What does she have to say?” Bilbo gave once glance at the letter to see the dwarvish script and knew he had no chance to read it for himself. Bilbo sat Kili on a cot and Bilbo sat on one himself. Kili got up and pushed his cot closer to Bilbo’s so there wasn’t any space between them. “Did your brother get a chance to read it?” Bilbo took off his outer coat to make a small pillow as he lay down.

“Yes, he got to it first.” Kili didn’t hide his disappointment on his face as he lay down next to Bilbo. He was still clutching the letter tight to his chest.

“Well what does it say?” Kili pulled it from his chest to start skimming the page. Bilbo felt his heart swell at the sight of the dwarf smiling so freely. It was one of the most genuine smiles he’d seen from Kili since the battle.

“Mostly that she’s glad we’re okay and she misses us. She’s getting a caravan together to bring the rest of the dwarves of Erebor, but they won’t be here until late spring or summer.” Kili folded up the letter into several small squares before he put it in a pocket near his chest. 

“Are you going to write her back?” Kili put his arms behind his head as he leaned back on the cot.

“Yeah, but I don’t have any paper or quill.” He blew out a deep breath. “Or ink for that matter. It’s all being used by all the kings.” Kili put a hand on his chest where the letter no doubt was kept.

“I’m sure someone would be willing to lend you some ink and paper to write back to your mother.” Bilbo looked at Kili out of the corner of his eye. The young dwarf had his eyes closed, but he didn’t look asleep just yet.

“It’s probably not important enough to waste the paper.” Kili was rather blunt about his observation, but Bilbo sat up at his declaration.

“Letting your mother hear from you personally is not a waste of paper, Kili. If I can get you your materials you will write your mother.” Kili opened one eye at him.

“You’d do that for me?” Bilbo couldn’t hide the offense from his face. He did refrain from clutching at his chest in hurt.

“Kili, it’s the least I can do.” Kili opened both eyes and in a flash he had pulled Bilbo into a hug.

“Thank you, Bilbo.” He pulled back with the biggest grin on his face. “But you have to promise you’ll write her as well.” Bilbo grimaced at the idea. Sure he had some writing to do if he was to stay in Erebor, but it was mostly to his distant relations and the actual Thain of the Shire to assure that he had not died and simply gone on a particularly long vacation. But to write to a dwarrowdam he had never met? What was Kili thinking? What was he even going to say to her? _Hi, I’m Bilbo Baggins I saved your brother from death twice and have grown too attached to your sons to break their hearts by leaving back to my own home. Oh and I am the Hobbit who may be your brother’s soul partner._ He scoffed at the idea.

“I can’t even write in Khuzdul.” Kili waved his hand at Bilbo.

“She can read Westron.” Bilbo had a feeling he didn’t have any way of getting out of this. He wanted Kili to write to his mother, but he feared the potential of giving a bad impression of himself the same way he had done to Thorin when they first met. He personally didn’t have it in him to face down another pale enemy to prove his worth either.

“What do I even say to your mother?” Bilbo laid back down and covered his eyes with one arm. A thousand thoughts running through his head.

“Well I believe you’d start with your name, your age if you’re feeling particularly bold “ – Bilbo shot a glare at Kili – “ and then you can tell her how you managed to steal the Arkenstone right underneath the dragons nose and reclaim Erebor.” Bilbo sighed dramatically.

“I don’t think I’ll lead with how I stole from her kingdom and then gave said stolen item to an outside kingdom as a peace treaty.” Kili shrugged. “And I will not tell her my age if she is to think for a moment I’m not a literal fauntling who took on an entire fire drake by myself. I am a perfectly respectable hobbit of middle age and will not be subjected to your dwarvish standards of age.” Kili turned to face Bilbo.

“Bilbo, am I older than you?” He had a mischievous glint in his eyes that lit up the otherwise dimly lit surroundings. Bilbo reached out and pulled at the sprouting hairs on Kili’s chin.

“You daft dwarf I just got done saying how I wasn’t going to tell you my age.” Kili hissed and made noises of pain before Bilbo let go with a grin.

“Did you rip any out?” Kili felt alone his newly acquired beard for any bald patches. Bilbo rolled his eyes.

“If I had you would know.” Bilbo turned so he was laying on his side facing away from Kili. “Now quit fussing about your missing beard and get some rest.” He could still faintly hear Kili rubbing at his chin behind him.

“Good night Bilbo.”

“Good night Kili.”

xXx

When they broke for lunch Bilbo made his way to the king’s tents. Dain, Thranduil, Bard, Fili, and Balin had claimed a tent used for meetings and were usually found there. It was refreshing to see the amount of medical tents had dwindled to a handful that still had Oin’s constant attention. Thankfully he had more help as the elf healers were now in more abundance. Thranduil had taken a step back from his healing duties and was confined almost constantly to as Balin was busy writing up documents and treaties and trade agreements and the like. Bilbo had sat in on a few, mainly to ease Fili as he dealt with the older leaders. Bilbo found more enjoyment in sitting next to Dwalin and passing some coins back and forth over how many times Thranduil and Bard would ‘accidentally’ invade each other’s space and thus give cause to touch each other. He could tell by the exhaustion on Balin’s face that some of it was in part to the two kings dancing around each other. Bilbo was surprised by Dain’s silence on the entire matter. From what interactions he had with the Dwarf King he was rather out spoken. Fili was surprisingly oblivious to the interactions whereas before with Thorin he had commented that Thorin’s intentions weren’t overtly ‘secret’. Bilbo couldn’t blame him for being single minded as he was trying to simply not embarrass his kingdom with his naivety. Thankfully where he was being overly cautious the rest of the leader’s minds seemed elsewhere.

As Bilbo was passing through the common area he saw a dwarf sitting amongst several human children. They were ranging in age from barely standing to well into their teens. The dwarf had several children wrapped on his arms and was lifting them with ease. The children on his arms were laughing and yelling as the dwarf swung them gently. A few of the children that weren’t on the dwarf’s arms were announcing their next turn on the dwarf’s arms. The dwarf gently placed the children down and a new batch were scrambling for a turn on the dwarf’s arms. The dwarf flexed proudly and had a gleaming smile as he was surrounded by so many children. It seemed that dwarrow and hobbits had that in common. Children were sacred and seeing so many was a joy that couldn’t be matched. Bilbo himself hadn’t desire for children of his own, seeing as he had assumed he would live out the rest of his live in bachelorhood. The sight of seeing the children yelling and cheering as the dwarf picked them up and swung them around the little area left him feeling suddenly hollow and he had rubbed at the side of his face to check for any stray tears. He felt somewhat like a voyeur watching these children enjoy this time. He was overcome with an ache he didn't know he had. Bilbo saw a few mothers watching from their cots. They had fond smiles on their face and Bilbo wondered how he must have looked watching them from his spot on the archway. He stopped eavesdropping on the scene and headed instead to the king’s tent.

He reached the tent quicker than he had hoped to find it surprisingly empty. He hummed to himself before he went ahead inside and began searching for the materials Kili would need to write his mother. He grabbed a few extra pieces for himself because he was if any a hobbit of his word. He wouldn’t know what he would do with his words, but he would at least attempt. The worst that could happen is that he wouldn’t get a letter back. Then he would only have to deal with introducing himself in person and that couldn’t be any worse than the letter he will sent to Lady Dis that received no reply. Bilbo took the supplies he needed and headed back to the cots that he and Kili had slept in the night before. If anything he was hired as a burglar, he couldn’t be faulted for take a few pieces of paper. He’d taken much more valuable in the past and was paid for it.

Upon returning to the cots he stashed the paper, ink, and quill under the blanket they shared there. It was just an overly large coat, probably something once used for royal engagements, but it was threadbare and torn in places. It wouldn’t see another engagement, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t be put to some good use. As he was straightening his posture he heard hurried footsteps behind him. He turned in time to see Balin and Dwalin nearly running to him. Bilbo felt his heart stop as he thought about an oncoming attack. He moved to grab Sting that was also hidden underneath the robe.

“Bilbo!” Balin was winded from running, he must have come a great distance to have his face so red when he approached Bilbo. “Come quick!” Bilbo wrapped the sheath around his waist and put Sting in the scabbard. “You won’t need that! It’s Thorin!” Bilbo felt his blood run cold. He quickly took his sheath off and stashed Sting under the robe. “We have to hurry!” Balin slid to a stop as he grabbed for Bilbo’s arm.

“What’s wrong with him?” Bilbo started up running after them.

“We were wrong.” Bilbo felt his heart drop to his toes and had it not been absolutely urgent that they reach Thorin he might have stopped to pick it up. “And it might be too late.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a side note I am posting this at 2am Anchorage time, so I know that it's a little later on the AO3 time, but that's literally when I post all of my stories. There is no inbetween. I either never post or only post between 12am and 5am. It's my productive time.


	6. Your Love is a Hit and Run

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I'm a little late, but I was doing research, ya'll know how it goes. Maybe that's just me and my ADHD. Anyways.  
> The title is from the song Your Love by Glass Animals and I just love them so I borrowed some lyrics for this chapter with a little twist. Here it is, the one everyone wanted because apparently my sad filler episode wasn't gonna cut it. Don't worry I thrive on your comments. This one will be very angsty. This is your warning. It's gonna be a bit before it gets better. Being separated from the love of your life kind of has that effect.  
> So technically no time elapses between the doors and Bilbo confronting Thorin, but I felt like it needed something like a commercial break or a fade to black. So just imagine that's what's happened rather than any time lapse. You'll know what I mean when you get to it.  
> I am also warning you I am unashamedly coming up with my own dwarf customs because well it's fanfiction and I can.  
> Also (I know lots of notes) THIS IS WHEN THE M RATING IS REALLY EFFECTIVE and probably the next chapter, but probably just this one for now. We'll see what everyone thinks of this one first.

Dwalin, Balin, and Bilbo were standing at two great doors, doors Bilbo hadn’t known existed in the mountain. His heart was hammering in his chest as he looked at the massive doors. Two dwarf guards were posted outside and other than their collective breathing no other noises could be heard in the atrium. The brother’s hadn’t explained anything as to what was wrong with Thorin as they ran through the halls of Erebor to an otherwise unremarkable section of the mountain. Without knowing this place was there, no one would have found it. Which would have been a good place to keep a spiraling king keep his secret battle with his own mind close to the heart of the kingdom. No one would accidentally stumble onto Thorin down here. Bilbo was surprised this place hadn’t been even remotely touched by the dragon. Maybe as soon as Smaug had claimed his gold the thought of exploring was out of the question. What need would there be if he already had a whole mountain full, what was a few more hidden rooms around the fortress. The mountain wasn’t very dragon friendly anyways. It felt very strictly dwarf friendly at several points in Bilbo’s time staying here.

“Balin, please tell me what’s going on.” Bilbo urged. The fear that was on both of the brother’s face was enough to send Bilbo into a frenzy of panic. Even though he had regained his breath from the run he was still shaking and breathing heavily from the thought that something irreversible had happened to Thorin.

“Well, at first we thought that getting him away from you was working,” Balin started. He almost looked guilty. “But then he just kept getting worse. We couldn’t even converse with him anymore. He was violent.” Balin looked sincerely at Bilbo. “He _is_ violent.” Bilbo couldn’t stop himself from running towards the door. Dwalin grabbed him by the waist just as the guards closed ranks and stood in front of the door. “We think he’s fading.” Bilbo didn’t know about all this new vocabulary he was dealing with as well as his own emotional turmoil, but it wasn’t like fading had ever been a word to refer to something joyous happening.

“Let me in there! I have to see him!” He kicked and hit at Dwalin’s arms. Dwalin didn’t loosen his hold.

“Quit strugglin’. We will, we’re just warnin’ ye’.” Dwalin whispered gravelly in his ear. For the first time Bilbo heard the striking emotion in Dwalin’s voice. He looked back to see the burly dwarf in tears and wasn’t attempting to hide it. Bilbo stopped struggling at the sight.

“We’re going to try and introduce you to him, but – “ Balin stopped abruptly. His voice had wavered slightly. “ – he isn’t himself Bilbo, don’t let his words and actions sway you.” Balin stepped forward as Dwalin released Bilbo. “He isn’t safe anymore, but we’ll lose him if we don’t try this.” Bilbo could see the tears in Balin’s eyes as he was in risk of losing a king and Bilbo, a hobbit who six months ago he hadn’t even known existed. “We will come with you just in – “

“No!” Bilbo shook his head violently. “Let me go alone. I can get through to him.” Balin looked at Dwalin with clear apprehension in his gaze. “He won’t hurt me.” Bilbo didn’t know how much he truly believed that statement, but he had to at least attempt to make them believe. When he got through those doors he could choose whether or not to believe it, but he just had to get them to let him in. “Please.” Bilbo felt Dwalin shift behind him. Balin looked deeply into Bilbo’s eyes. He finally stepped forward and hugged the hobbit. Bilbo felt conflicted on the hug because he wasn’t sure if it meant Balin was saying goodbye. When he was released Balin motioned for the guards behind him to ease ranks and open the doors for Bilbo to enter.

“Give me until dinner time. Regardless of what you hear in there, I don’t want to leave until I’ve made some break through.” Bilbo assumed that would be in six hours or so, plenty of time to try and deal with the king on the other side of the doors. “Oh and tell Kili to write his mother using those papers on my cot. I’ll be a little late to bed tonight.” Balin took a deep intake of breath and nodded.

“See you at dinner time laddie.” Bilbo turned and Dwalin let him pass. Once he reached the doors the guards opened them a crack to let Bilbo slip through and before he could really contemplate if this was worse than facing off against a dragon in a completely foreign place the doors were closed behind him and he was left without any way to turn back.

xXx

Bilbo was presented with an otherwise blasé room. It had a desk with some papers and ink on it, a chair tipped over on its side near the bed – which was an actual bed and not a cot – with sheets strewn every which way. The room much like everywhere in the castle had been adorned in piles of gold and trinkets here and there. It seemed to be a consequence of a greedy dragon and a once gold hungry king. The sight of gold had long since worn its welcome in Bilbo’s mind. It was nothing more than dust on his mother’s fine china plates on a particularly windy summer. He dared to walk out into the open area of the room. The room wasn’t as massive as the doors had made it out to be, but it was much bigger than the room he himself had been locked in. He started to walk towards the desk to right the chair that had been turned on its side when he was grabbed by his waist and chest and pulled into a crushing restraint. Bilbo, despite the massive fright it had caused him, did not utter a sound when Thorin restrained him. His arms were like vices around his hips and torso. Despite the embrace, Bilbo couldn’t say it was a particularly caring one.

“Come to steal from me again, Hobbit?” Bilbo would have rolled his eyes at the statement if he didn’t currently have the king’s hand creeping ever slowly towards his neck.

“I only took what was awarded to me as written in the contract you proposed to me.” Bilbo had faced Thranduil – convinced him that he was of a royal status least of all – and he had faced Azog twice and killed him on the second meeting. He could summon the courage to keep his voice steady.

“And what other propositions would you have agreed to if awarded with a quick thrill?” At this point Thorin had the hand that was previously wrapped around his chest pressing on Bilbo’s throat. He wasn’t squeezing yet, but Bilbo could feel the urge to do so in the way Thorin’s hand flexed against his skin. He wondered for a moment if Thorin would choke to kill or to incapacitate. He wasn’t about to let himself find out. He had told Balin Thorin wouldn’t hurt him and he was going to uphold that.

“Thorin.” Bilbo tried to turn in Thorin’s arms, but he was barely allotted the space to breath. His arms were pinned behind him from the way that Thorin had originally grabbed at him. The feeling of Thorin moving his head to get closer to Bilbo’s ear had him shivering and he wasn’t entirely sure if it was a fear reaction he was having. Thorin’s beard scratched at the nape of his neck and he tried to wriggle himself free from the overwhelming feeling. Apparently it was the wrong choice of movement as he felt Thorin’s hand tighten on his neck, not enough to stop breathing, but he was sure the edges of his vision were going black.

“You steal the right to refer to me by that name. I am a king!” He snarled in Bilbo’s ear and Bilbo was still able to gasp at the tone in Thorin’s voice. “You will refer to me as such, Burglar!” The pressure on his neck had loosened and he took a deep gulp of air. The grip Thorin was using wasn’t one to kill – duly noted.

“A king who would be without a throne if it wasn’t for me! Now unhand me!” Bilbo tried again to struggle out of Thorin’s grasp, but he was met with another grip on his throat and this time it was much more forceful than the last one. There wasn’t a pain of losing oxygen, but Bilbo could feel a fuzziness in his head when Thorin grabbed him like that.

“Now that I have you in hand, I don’t think I will.” Suddenly Bilbo’s head was being turned ever slightly to the side and Bilbo could see the side of Thorin’s face from this angle. His eyes weren’t the usual blue he had come to recognize. They were that glowing yellow he had seen in the eyes of the fire drake that once resided over this gold. Suddenly the thought of Thorin being unable to harm him may not be as true as he had originally thought. If Thorin wasn’t in control of himself than who knew what that meant for Bilbo. Thorin eased the pressure on Bilbo’s neck and Bilbo couldn’t stop the groan that came from his mouth as the blood came rushing back into his head and he felt a thrill run up his spine along with it. “That face suits you well.” Bilbo would have blushed, but he was sure his face was already flushed from the hold Thorin had had him in.

“Thorin, come back to me.” Bilbo panted as he tried for a third and mostly unsuccessful time to remove himself from Thorin’s grasp. This time at least he had the ability to pull a hand from between his back and Thorin’s front. He grabbed Thorin’s hand on his waist. He tried to wedge his fingers between his hand and Bilbo’s hip. “Don’t fade from me.” Bilbo could feel Thorin move against him to put one leg between Bilbo’s legs and push them apart.

“What do you know of fading?” Thorin hadn’t eased the grip he had on his waist, but there was something different in his voice that Bilbo latched onto.

“I feel it Thorin. I feel it in the darkest of nights when I think of returning to the Shire. The deep ache. The thought of putting any amount of distance between you and myself. I find it unbearable to keep you locked away in here so far from my grasp.” In all honesty, Bilbo wouldn’t have been lying about any part of his little speech. The day he had to decide on whether he would stay in Erebor or leave its gates forever he had been filled with a dread he couldn’t shake. It dragged at his feet and weighed him down even heavier than the hundreds of bodies outside the walls of Erebor. It was as if the mud of the battlefield had pulled him into a cave and he was slowing being pushed from above and sucked down into the murky blackness of the battle. Thinking about being unable to see Kili crowned was heartbreaking, but thinking of leaving Thorin was world ending. He could see himself spending every last minute of his mostly forgettable life alone in Bag End thinking of the king he had saved and lost. Not from war, but from his own selfish proprietary. As suddenly as Thorin was pressed against his back he was gone.

Bilbo turned quickly to see the blue in Thorin’s eyes return. Thorin looked at him with such sorrow in his face. Bilbo moved to close the distance, but Thorin threw up his hands.

“Bilbo, don’t. I’m not myself. I couldn’t bear the thought of harming you.” He kept Bilbo at a distance and Bilbo stopped in his tracks. He had finally gotten a good look at Thorin since standing over him all those weeks ago in a dimly lit tent when he’d first seen the way Thorin’s eyes shifted so drastically from yellow to blue.

“You didn’t, please Thorin.” Bilbo attempted again, but Thorin took a step back. Bilbo stopped pursuing and stood his ground. “Sit?” Bilbo motioned to the disheveled bed pressed up against the only bare wall in the room. Thorin stood perfectly still while Bilbo sat on the side of the bed and once he was sat down did Thorin join him on his side. The bed was large enough that they had a good distance between them though they sat on the same side of the bed. Thorin was wearing more than what he had last seen him in. It was almost similar to what they had traveled in just not as heavily armored. He had his cloak hanging on one of the pegs of the headboard to complete the look.

“Bilbo, I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong.” Thorin couldn’t even look Bilbo in the eye. “I’ve felt this…possession for you since the Carrock, but it’s like I can’t help it.” Bilbo wanted to reach out and touch Thorin. The usually emotionally stunted dwarf seemed driven to speak his feelings this time. “It’s like I see you and something just takes over me. I’m watching myself from within the cart of mind and someone else is steering the pony. It wasn’t so bad before, but the minute we got into the mountain…” Bilbo sat listening intently.

“Smaug must have cursed this gold. He preyed on your grandfather’s weakness the same way he’s preying on yours.” Bilbo tried to sound as humanizing as possible, to bring up weaknesses with dwarves wasn’t the wisest of choices least of all when the one in question was being effected by a curse put on them by the previous owner of the mountain. “We were wrong to lock you in here, but – “

“No! Who knows what I would have done if left up there. This was the better option. I don’t blame anyone for that.” Bilbo must have looked startled by the proclamation. Thorin dared a glance at Bilbo. “You probably know by now of Dwarven One’s.” Bilbo did blush this time. To talk about it to others it seemed far off, but to be presented with the object of the suggested context was almost too much to bear. It brought a harsh reality to the situation.

“I had a impromptu lesson by Balin, yes.” Thorin looked away from him again. He had his eyes trained on his hands as if replaying the actions he had done just moments ago.

“Then it was safer for you to have me down here. Without the proper ceremonies in place than the joining of One’s can’t be completed. And you were unaware of our customs. Even without the curse on my bloodline the situation would have been delicate, but now…” Thorin clenched his fists and pressed his lips together. “When a dwarrow meets their One, if it’s another dwarrow as opposed to a craft, they immediately begin the preparations to enact in the courting rites. After each have agreed to the terms of their arrangement they get married shortly after, depending on the dwarrow that has many different meanings. But one thing must happen. _zebund._ It’s the Bonding Ceremony. Without it each of the pair will fade and it’s usually fatal. This hardly ever happens, but it has.”

“What does that entail?” Bilbo dared to move a little closer. Thorin didn’t move away, so he took it as a sign to stay where he was.

“Depends on the terms of agreement, each _zebund_ is individual to the dwarrow involved. It’s…an extremely personal contract.” Despite the circumstances, Bilbo was thrilled to learn more about the Dwarven culture, but on the other hand he was just a breath’s away from breathing his last and the cause of his potential downfall was sitting directly in front of him. Given that information he still couldn’t find it in his heart to be terrified of Thorin. He was just Thorin after all.

“How long does this sequence usually last?” Thorin ran a hand through his hair, it had been down and without braids probably since they returned from Raven Hill. No one was worried about status when there were so many other pressing matters to contend with.

“Once the dwarrow find their One it’s usually done within a week.” Bilbo resisted the urge to gasp. He had made Thorin go almost three months like this. He hadn’t acknowledged Thorin’s intentions and it had led to this. Sometimes the Baggins in him was so dense. “The longer the dwarrow go without engaging in their bonding ceremony the longer their soul is left vulnerable.” His voice had gotten rather quiet and Bilbo would have cried at the damage he may have done to Thorin by not just letting his Took side take control of the situation. He had been Tookish enough to go on this damned adventure, but now he shut himself in with status quos and various other trivial matters.

“Thorin.” Bilbo got slightly closer, still Thorin didn’t make him move farther away or move himself, so he stayed in his new spot. “I’m so sorry.” Bilbo toyed with the a string on his trousers. “Hobbits don’t have soul mates, or _zeboonds_ , or any of that. It’s just unheard of in our culture.” Bilbo could see a flash of pain cross Thorin’s face. “I’m not saying I’m not your One, it’s just I couldn’t recognize it for what it was and was unable to even begin to act on it..” Bilbo felt like the ground had opened up and swallowed him whole. He was making a fool of himself in front of Thorin. Bilbo took a deep breath and scooted even closer. He was so close he could have brushed his fingers with the side of Thorin’s thigh if he dared. Bilbo let the silence linger on as he stared at the side of Thorin’s face. He still was avoiding looking at him and he couldn’t distinguish if it was out of shame or fear.

“What did it feel like?” Thorin finally turned to look at him out of the corner of his eye. “When you knew?” A sparkle could be seen in Thorin’s eyes and Bilbo felt his heart stutter for a moment at the sight.

“I didn’t at first. Just suddenly in Beorn’s gardens you were walking through the fields with your hand in the flowers and you were dodging massive bumblebees and the shine of your hair had a luster that could rival any melted gold. You laughed at something and the sound must have been what Eru heard when he created Arda. You looked a vision, Bilbo, and all I wanted to do was press you into the soft grass and feel how your hair would tickle my nose or how your fingers would feel braiding my hair. I wanted to see you in the finest metals and most precious of gems. I would have given my throne to see you in my colors at that moment.” Bilbo was speechless, which was quite a feat given that he had fearlessly – or stupidly – faced much more dangerous opponents, but Thorin’s honest words had left his mind vacant and his mouth parched for words. They were silent for some time as Bilbo tried to even think of a way to respond.

Bilbo reached out gently and moved to cup Thorin’s cheek. He went instead for a stray piece of hair that he tucked behind Thorin’s ear. Thorin stilled at the motion. Bilbo wasn’t sure what it was from. But he wouldn’t have to wait long to figure it out.

As Bilbo was reaching back to put his hand in his lap, Thorin’s eyes shifted rapidly between yellow and blue before settling on yellow and before Bilbo could register the meaning Thorin had lunged at Bilbo. His hand went immediately for Bilbo’s neck and Bilbo was slammed onto the bed with a substantial amount of force. He let out a gasp at the sudden change in situations and the hand that was currently around his throat. Still it didn’t cut off his air supply, but it was still a startling development. Thorin hovered over Bilbo with the haunting yellow eyes. He had positioned one leg between Bilbo’s and the other trapping one of Bilbo’s hands under his knee. Bilbo grunted as he grabbed at Thorin’s wrist with his free hand.

“Thorin.” He whispered. The hand on his throat was a threat, but it wasn’t an empty one.

“I am your king under the mountain.” Thorin growled on top of Bilbo. Thorin leaned down ever so slowly to put his mouth just under where his hand was joined at Bilbo’s neck. He grazed his teeth against Bilbo’s skin and Bilbo whined at the action. He panted heavily as Thorin’s other hand grabbed at Bilbo’s hip, pulling him down onto his knee positioned between Bilbo’s legs. Bilbo fluttered his eyes as Thorin removed his hand from Bilbo’s neck and moved it to the back of his head. He pulled at the hair there and Bilbo openly moaned at the action as Thorin timed it with a teasing bite on his collar bone.

“King. King Thorin.” Bilbo decided if he was going to try and get his Thorin back he could play the game this side of him was getting at. Surprisingly the action did not have the foreseen actions that Bilbo had intended.

“Mine. That is what you are. My burglar, my consort, my hobbit.” Thorin pulled at Bilbo’s hair much more forcefully this time, exposing his neck to the king. Thorin leaned his weight off of Bilbo’s other hand. At this point Bilbo was much too caught up in the emotions that Thorin was drawing from him to do much more than put his own hands in Thorin’s hair and back of his neck. Bilbo’s own hands explored Thorin’s back as Thorin moved his hand from Bilbo’s hip to slip under Bilbo’s shirt. The heat from Thorin’s hand was shocking to the chilled room around them. Bilbo hadn’t even noticed the drop in temperature as he had been sweating nearly the entire time he was there.

“Yours. I’m yours.” Bilbo rocked his body as Thorin effortlessly picked him up to toss him to the middle of the bed. Bilbo panted to catch his breath having been briefly weightless and was shocked to find Thorin standing at the side of the bed. The yellow and blue were fighting in his eyes again and he thought they might go back to yellow when they finally settled on blue and Thorin looked at Bilbo with a blank expression. Bilbo sat up and stared back at Thorin with an equally questing countenance.

“Do you mean that?” Bilbo would have laughed had this not been the most serious he had ever been.

“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.” They stared at each other for a long breath. Bilbo thought Thorin might try and get himself away from Bilbo, but then Thorin climbed back on the bed and situated himself next to Bilbo. Bilbo lay back down and Thorin followed him to lean over him. His eyes remained blue the entire time. Again they were silent as they took in each other in their new perspectives. “Would you happen to know when you…” Bilbo didn’t really know what he was asking. Was Thorin changing people? Was he still Thorin just uninhibited?

“I can usually yes.” Thorin seemed almost indifferent to the entire ramifications of what it was that was still ailing him.

“Okay, could you give me a heads up because I’d either like to finish where we left off or just avoid the entire situation.” Suddenly Thorin’s eyes went dark, but not for the potential shift that may or may not be happening. Bilbo for the first time felt like he was some sort of prey under the keen eye of a predator. That didn’t stop the shot of arousal that spiked his nerves and lidded his eyes. He was able to keep his breathing even for what it was worth.

“I’ll do my best.” Thorin’s voice was gravelly and it wasn’t helping Bilbo’s libido in the slightest.

“I mean, unless there’s anything against finishing this as we are?” Bilbo knew he was pushing buttons somewhere, but he didn’t know just exactly that would mean for him and part of him couldn’t wait to find out. Maybe when a hobbit encountered someone they had been forged into a soul bond with it made them unabashed flirts.

“Not particularly.” Thorin’s eyes trailed along Bilbo and he would have probably finished what they’d started himself had he seen the way Thorin ran his tongue over his teeth. Thankfully his black locks had blocked the sequence and saved Bilbo from an embarrassing scene. “Bonding Ceremonies are hardly ever something as lascivious as engaging in sex.”

“Are you saying that just to get into my pants, Thorin Oakenshield?” Bilbo had no idea who this brazen wanton was, but if it kept Thorin looking at him like that he couldn’t be all that ashamed of himself. Thorin moved to climb over Bilbo, he gently positioned Bilbo’s legs on either side of his hips and in a final alluring moment Thorin opened his own legs and Bilbo would have lied if he didn’t make a rather lewd noise at the display. 

“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A long one for you guys. This may continue into the next chapter just shoot me a line and I'll definitely take what you guys have to say as the start of the next chapter. This'll be one where YOU decide. Thrilling right? It's like a build your own adventure book but for adults.  
> I just was doing some research and Bilbo turned 51 on the trip to Erebor and it was the SAME day they arrived in Laketown and NO ONE EVEN CELEBRATED HIS BIRTHDAY I am going to fix that probably with the next chapter if not the one after that because that is FUCKING egregious. How dare those stupid dwarfs, NOT EVEN GANDALF. (oh shit I sound like a Baggins)  
> Unrelated side note: I swear to god writing is a fucking nightmare. I researched how long it would take to heal from a puncture wound in the foot and was trying to avoid saying i had been stabbed in the foot by a sword, but nail doesn't cut it. Whoever my FBI agent is must be so very confused. I am not in fact leaving swords around my house to step on, but god damnit it for the name of fanfiction. So let's assume from the time of the BotFA it's been...a month and a half. Unless anyone else would like to do the research for me on how long it takes to heal from being stabbed in the fucking foot. This is what we're going with.  
> Second unrelated side note: I am REALLY exposing myself when I write scenes like this. Bitches got one type of kinky and it's definitely not vanilla. It's me. I'm bitches.
> 
> zebund - One head. I tried to think of something like one mind, but I couldn't really find anything like that. I might change it latter, I don't really like the way it sounds.  
> Hey did y’all know that werewolves and vampires are canon in the Tolkien universe. Yeah so like not AU to totally have those in your fanfics.


	7. You're in a Place for Fear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys guess what?! LuciferisSatan wrote a very similar concept to my story over in the E category! It's great! They wrote it before I came out with this one which is crazy you know that we both had a similar idea and managed to come out with a story around the same time! Anyways here's a link to their story so you can check it out for yourself and go give it some love. I know you will love it. https://archiveofourown.org/works/21135956  
> Sorry I can't do hyperlinks in the notes or at least I don't know how so just copy paste into your search bar and it'll totally pull it up. 
> 
> This is a VERY IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE: PLEASE READ FOR FURTHER UNDERSTANDING AS I WILL NOT GO OVER IT IN THE STORY!!!  
> So basically what's going on with Thorin's personality shift can be summed up kind of like the concept of the Id/Ego/Super Ego. While they may have an understanding of something like this in this universe they don't have those names so I won't really go into that kind of thing in the story. When Thorin is in his 'Yellow Eyed' phase it's like his Id which is just his instincts: The right to rule, the claiming of a consort, protecting his property, and all that. He's aggressive and impulsive and only thinks about pleasure and what he can do to get it. So it's still him just kind of the more feral part of a dwarf and of his Ego which is just the self. When Thorin is in his 'Blue Eyed' phase it's basically just the Ego. Just him and he's in control. I'll go into more detail in the story about my plans with the 'Bilbo Sickness', but this stuff doesn't really have a context in this story, they didn't have a middle earth Freud you know. So yeah that's the really important part that I hope you all read as to avoid confusion. He's not possessed or anything like that. These feelings have always been there in his unconscious. And that's going to be a big portion of the story from now on as he and Bilbo navigate how to build a relationship where Bilbo has already seen this unrestrained side of Thorin. Alright that's enough talking, get into the story already go on.
> 
> Also yes, 3000 words of this is the sex scene (no spoilers there it's what ya'll asked for) because I believe that anything less than 2000 doesn't have nearly enough foreplay. Crucial. Might also have to change the rating to E...oops

Bilbo stared at the king currently spread between his legs. He was no blushing virgin, but the sight of Thorin kneeling between him as his desire was clearly evident between them had him blushing and squirming on the bed.

“Are you going to finish what you started or are we just going to stare at each other like a bunch of tweens?” Bilbo had never been so brazen. Something about looking at Thorin with his eyes hooded and the way Bilbo could see his biceps flex with the restraint to keep his hands to himself. Thorin must have found it awfully amusing to tease him as he reached up to gather his hair up in both hands to tie it back with one of the ties around his wrist. Bilbo grabbed at the sheets above his head as his cock twitched at the display. Bilbo shifted himself so that his arse was sitting just inches from Thorin’s own straining erection. Thorin ran his hands down Bilbo’s thighs and stopped to squeeze at his hips. The feeling of his hands on him was sending heat through his entire body. He spread his legs further to encourage Thorin to start touching him, somewhere, anywhere. Thorin pulled Bilbo by his hips under his bottom brushed against Thorin’s cock through his pants causing both of them to groan out. Bilbo had his legs wrapped around Thorin’s neck and thought it was a funny switch from before where Thorin had his hand on his throat and now Bilbo had his legs around Thorin’s.

“Oh, Bilbo, all the times you made me wait.” Bilbo gasped as Thorin started on his pant strings. He groaned with anticipation. “Now, you get to wait for me.” Bilbo moaned as Thorin moved from Bilbo’s now open pants to run his hands under his shirt. He used one hand to hold Bilbo’s lower back and the other moved to the bed to grab at the mattress. Bilbo’s mind was hazed over with desire as he watched as Thorin held him up with one arm and adjusted himself so he was parallel with Bilbo. On his way down he rolled his hips in a way that gave Bilbo the delicious friction he was craving. He couldn’t help the cry he voiced as Thorin kept his lower half pressed close against his own pelvis. Bilbo reveled in the way Thorin groaned against him, his nails digging into the exposed flesh of the curve of his ass as his pants slowly started reveal the attention starved cock between them.

“Please, Thorin.” Bilbo sounded wanton. Like if he feel Thorin’s bare skin against him he would die.

“All those times you fell into me? And I didn’t take you then? A true miracle.” All the times Bilbo had clumsily bumped into Thorin or fell against him came to the forefront of his mind and made him gasp. The thought that the king on top of him had wanted him for so long made his blood boil and made sweat break out on his forehead. Thorin let Bilbo fully down on the bed as he moved back to put his hands on Bilbo’s falling pants. They had exposed a good portion of his hips and just the start of his honeyed curls. Thorin leant down to place gentle kisses all along the revealed skin. He slowly pulled Bilbo’s trousers down and his tongue followed suit.

Bilbo’s throbbing member was on full display with Thorin’s mouth just inches from it. Bilbo panted and squirmed as Thorin took his time to kiss everywhere except the most needed part of Bilbo’s body. Bilbo helped him to kick his trousers off as Thorin’s mouth found a particularly sensitive spot on the inside of Bilbo’s thigh. The feeling of his beard on his skin as he kissed and laved his tongue on the flesh had Bilbo arching off the bed. Bilbo grabbed at Thorin’s hair, careful not to take it out of the wrap he had put it into.

“You are a tyrant.” Bilbo groaned as Thorin moved from one thigh to the next. He had moved a hand to Bilbo’s chest to hold him down and the other was on the swell of his bottom keeping him from squirming too much. The fingers on his bottom squeezed and massaged the flesh there. “An absolute bore.” Bilbo could barely get the words out as Thorin moved his head to stare at Bilbo with lust filled eyes. He had managed to keep them blue or at least the yellow eyed part of him was sated with the current turn of events.

“You wound me, Master Baggins.” Came Thorin’s snide remark as he removed his hands from Bilbo to lean completely over the hobbit. Bilbo mewled at the loss of contact. “I am going to fuck you until the only thing coming out of your mouth is my tongue.” Bilbo felt his heart stutter at the mental image. Thorin removed himself from on top of Bilbo and Bilbo watched as he walked over to the desk. He began to rummage through the desk and Bilbo would be lying if he didn’t say that the sight of Thorin rock hard while he looked – presumably – for oil to do exactly what he said was an aphrodisiac in itself. Finally after pulling out every drawer in the desk, Thorin revealed a vial of half full liquid and the implication of the look he shot at Bilbo had him writhing on the bed.

“Convenient.” Bilbo managed as Thorin made his way over to lean of Bilbo once more.

“It is my desk, after all.” Bilbo would have taken more time to revel in the fact that he was in Thorin’s room, on Thorin’s bed, in Thorin’s sheets, but Thorin had situated himself back between Bilbo’s legs and promptly put Bilbo’s entire cock in his mouth. Bilbo arched off the bed at the sudden feeling as he cried out loud enough for it to fill up the entire room with noise. Bilbo had to close his eyes to keep himself from climaxing at the sight of his cock easily making its way in and out of Thorin’s welcoming mouth. Bilbo focused on the feeling of Thorin making himself familiar with the different ways to make Bilbo moan and squirm when the feeling of a well oiled digit started to tease at his hole. Bilbo’s eyes shot open to see Thorin smirking around his dick. The sight alone made him keen against the dwarf. Thorin made sure to pull of his cock if Bilbo got too close to climax. How it was that Thorin already knew the inner workings of Bilbo’s preferences was beyond him, but he wasn’t going to ruin it by saying anything.

The denial of his orgasm had Bilbo panting and sweating against Thorin. The feeling of the increasing amount of fingers in his hole helped in keeping him rock hard. Bilbo shed his shirt as Thorin started undressing himself. Bilbo marveled at the way his body seemed to be made out of the same stone around them. Bilbo reached up to run his hands over Thorin’s chest, but Thorin grabbed both of his hands and pressed them into the bed. 

“Don’t make me do something about your wandering hands.” Bilbo ground his hips against Thorin’s bare thighs. Thorin let go of his hands and ran a hand down his face. His thumb skirted Bilbo’s lips and Bilbo darted a tongue out to wet Thorin’s thumb. Thorin grabbed the side of Bilbo’s face to steady his fingers as he pulled Bilbo’s bottom lip down. Bilbo took it as an invitation and took the digit into his mouth. Bilbo was struck at the sight of Thorin’s face relaxed in pleasure and the way his cock bounced in acknowledgement of the action. Bilbo swirled his tongue over Thorin’s finger and carefully grazed his teeth over the entire thing. Thorin growled possessively at him as he removed his thumb with a pop and hurried to put oil on his neglected erection. Bilbo grabbed at the sheets above his head as he watched Thorin take himself in hand to lather his dick in oil. Once it was glistening with oil and saliva, Thorin used one arm to spread across Bilbo’s back and the other to grab at his hip. He effortlessly lifted Bilbo until they were chest to chest. Bilbo adjusted his legs to support his change in position only to feel his knees go weak as both of their engorged members brushed against each other. Thorin put his mouth on the side of Bilbo’s neck as he moaned into his skin. Bilbo for his part wrapped his arms around Thorin’s neck as he made a high pitched keening sound. Once Bilbo regained strength in his legs he pushed himself up to position Thorin’s cock with his stretched hole. The blunt feeling of Thorin had him groaning at the contact. He gently lowered himself little by little to the wonderful sounds of Thorin cursing and moaning. Thorin’s hands were scratching at his back and Bilbo could barely contain his own noises as he sheathed Thorin into him.

“Fuck! Thorin!” The most Bilbo could do was a string of one word sentences as Thorin was finally sheathed completely in him. Thorin widened his stance as Bilbo adjusted to Thorin’s size. Thorin kissed and nipped the entirety of Bilbo’s neck and shoulders. Bilbo hissed and panted as Thorin got more brazen with his teeth on his neck, he would no doubt have marks on his neck and he wasn’t sure how he was going to get out of several invasive questions from the rest of the group let alone the looks from everyone else in the mountain. Bilbo’s mind went blank from prying eyes of the mountains as Thorin started to roll his hips into him and his entire body went slack at the feeling. Thankfully Thorin was holding him as he continued to slowly angle his hips against Bilbo’s backside. Bilbo felt his toes curling as his climax was making itself apparent once again. Just before he could reach his plateau, Thorin pulled him completely off and Bilbo whined at the loss of contact. “You’re going to kill me!” Bilbo’s head snapped to look at Thorin who was finding an immense amount of joy in bringing Bilbo just to the cusp before pulling off completely. Bilbo’s nerves were live wires at this point and everywhere Thorin touched was an electric shock. Thorin eased him down on the bed, one arm still wrapped around his hips to hold him up. Before Bilbo could really start complaining Thorin easily reentered Bilbo and anything Bilbo was going to say died on his tongue as he moaned.

“You’ll be lucky to walk out of this room when I’m finished with you.” Thorin leaned to groan in Bilbo’s ear as he picked up the pace with his hips. Bilbo grabbed at Thorin’s shoulders as he continued to piston his hips against Bilbo. Thorin grabbed left hand and slotted his fingers into Bilbo’s. Bilbo held on for all it was worth. Bilbo wrapped his legs around Thorin’s lower back and the new angle had him crying out with every thrust as it hit just the right way within him. With Bilbo’s free hand he grabbed at the base of Thorin’s neck. Thorin leaned down and place sloppy kisses at Bilbo’s lips. Bilbo had been so caught up in the way Thorin was manhandling him that he hadn’t realized this was the first time they had kissed. Must like everything else that was their relationship it was completely unconventional. Bilbo used the hand on the base of Thorin’s neck to guide him squarely to his mouth to lave his mouth with deep kisses. Thorin was receptive to the way Bilbo ran his tongue over his lips and bit at the skin there.

Bilbo put his feet on the bed to keep himself up as Thorin reached around to wrap his hand around Bilbo’s member. He pumped his hand in time with his hips and soon Bilbo was moaning and mewling into Thorin’s mouth. Thorin was being equally vocal as he grunted and sighed against Bilbo. Thorin pulled his mouth from Bilbo’s, a stray strand of saliva trailing between them. Thorin growled at the sight and licked from Bilbo’s chin into his mouth. Bilbo moaned into Thorin’s mouth as his tongue explored its way through Bilbo’s mouth. He released Bilbo’s lips once more and started to kiss and bite at the skin on his neck. The feeling of Thorin’s hands on his cock and Thorin thrusting in and out of him had him out of his mind as he was again almost at his peak.

“Please, Thorin, let me cum, please.” Bilbo was begging into Thorin’s ear as his voice cracked as his legs tensed up.

“As you wish.” Bilbo could have cried, but then Thorin removed his hand from his dick. Bilbo was going to thrash in response, but then Thorin leaned back and seemed to find a new vigor in which to pump in and out of Bilbo. Bilbo grabbed at the sheets of the bed as his entire body tensed at the way Thorin was thrusting at him. Bilbo’s mouth was open in a silent scream as his eyes screwed shut from the intensity of it all. “Look at me.” Thorin commanded. Bilbo’s eyes shot open and he was lost in the look of pure pleasure on Thorin’s face. Without much warning Bilbo was screaming Thorin’s name as his release covered his chest and stomach. Thorin grinned, but didn’t slow in his ministrations. The sight of Bilbo’s release only seemed to spur him on as he angled Bilbo’s hips so that his legs were once again on Thorin’s shoulders and continued to pound into Bilbo. Bilbo was delirious from his release, but much sooner than he had ever experienced he was already back at peak and a simple wrap of Thorin’s hand around his cock had him spurting onto his hand. Bilbo’s voice would be hoarse tomorrow as he screamed again from the sudden arrival of his second release.

“You greedy little hobbit, taking all the pleasure for yourself.” Thorin pulled himself from Bilbo and in a quick motion had him flipped over on his stomach. Bilbo was hardly resistant as he took the moment to compose himself from the two releases currently coursing through his system. His climb down much faster than he had ever experienced as he positioned his hands in front of him to arch his back for Thorin to finish. Thorin pulled at his hips and entered Bilbo in a swift motion. Bilbo pressed his face into the mattress as he grunted with Thorin’s movements. Thorin was relentless as he used what was left in the vial to lube up his hand and start rubbing at Bilbo’s erection. It was like he hadn’t just experienced to climax’s as he was still achingly hard. He had never experienced such a reaction in any of his experiences. For the most part he would be the one giving the attentions, but even when he was the recipient he had managed one before he was spent and sent his partner off to sleep his release off.

Now Thorin had him in hand and his cock making obscene noises in the room and it was like they had just started. Bilbo tensed his shoulders as he matched Thorin’s strokes with his own. Thorin moaned low and gave a tight squeeze to Bilbo’s member before Bilbo was screaming into the mattress for a third time, but this time he was joined by Thorin hunching over him and stuttering his hips to a halt. Bilbo could feel the last twitches of Thorin’s release as they lay panting against each other. Thorin took a moment before he pulled himself out and the evidence of his release dripped out to join the mess Bilbo had made on his sheets. Thorin grabbed Bilbo around his midsection and dragged him against his chest. Bilbo could barely move his legs as Thorin nuzzled his nose into the base of Bilbo’s neck. His hair was stuck against his head from sweat and Bilbo could feel his several releases drying on his stomach. He would do something about it if he hadn’t just reached climax for the third time.

Bilbo felt his eye lids grow heavy as Thorin wrapped his arms even tighter around him. Bilbo fought to stay awake, but his legs could barely hold his weight with the way they were shaking. Bilbo had half the mind to reach over and grab Thorin’s cloak to cover them both. It was less about the chill of the room and the potential that Balin would be checking in on Bilbo in who knows how long and Bilbo would like to avoid an awkward confrontation. Thorin’s lips were moving against his skin, but he couldn’t find the energy in him to question him on what he was trying to say. Bilbo grabbed at Thorin’s arm and fell into a deep sleep.

xXx

Sometime later, Bilbo heard the massive doors open and in his sleep addled mind he didn’t register the meaning of the noise. It took until he heard Dwalin that his mind was startled awake and he held Thorin’s cloak to his chest as he sat up to squint his eyes at Balin and Dwalin. The room once, previously lit by several lamps, was pitch black and the light coming from the corridor was the only illumination.

“I’d say he had a break through.” Dwalin remarked from beside Balin. Bilbo could barely make out their faces with the light shining directly into his eyes. Bilbo felt Thorin’s arm snake around him once more and he moved behind him. He could feel Thorin place his chin on Bilbo’s side as he looked at the intruders.

“Come to take my hobbit from me?” The tone in Thorin’s voice wasn’t the one that Bilbo had heard last. Bilbo spared a glance to Thorin and saw his eyes had taken on the yellow tint he had recently acquired. Bilbo felt Thorin’s arm tighten ever more on his waist and he looked back at Balin and Dwalin. Dwalin was probably rolling his eyes the way he turned to face the door once more.

“We have to have certain conversations with Bilbo, you know that Thorin.” Balin reasoned with his king. Bilbo was in the process of gathering the coat to cover him more fully when Thorin launched off the bed and stalked toward Balin. Dwalin looked over at the commotion and neither could have said they were impressed by the display Thorin was currently engaging in.

“There’s no need for such trivialities. Bilbo is mine and I will duel anyone who dares challenge that!” Bilbo did roll his eyes. He put on Thorin’s coat completely and walked over to his nude savior. He put a hand on Thorin’s arm when he approached.

“I’m sure Balin is well within reason to request I go with him.” Bilbo felt a little chilled even with the coat now that he wasn’t pressed so close to Thorin. “I won’t be leaving forever. I will be back shortly, certainly.” Bilbo tried to avoid looking into Balin or Dwalin’s eyes. Bilbo felt as Thorin’s body tensed in a series of shivers before he turned to look down at Bilbo. The blue was back in his eyes when Bilbo returned his gaze.

“Yes, there are courses of action that must be taken.” Despite standing completely bare in front of his advisor and body guard with the intent to fight them off, Thorin didn’t look the least bit shy as he reached down to cup Bilbo’s chin and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. Bilbo blushed furiously at the display, but returned the gesture.

“Bilbo, if you’ll get changed. Thorin, we’ll have a bath brought down for you and dinner.” Balin started to turn around to give Bilbo privacy to get changed. “And maybe some new linens.” Bilbo felt heat reach the tip of his ears as he turned to get changed into the clothes he wore down here. He handed Thorin his coat and while it didn’t cover nearly as much as it did on Bilbo, he was more decent than before. Before Bilbo could leave with Balin and Dwalin, Thorin once again grabbed his face and gave him a sweet kiss. Bilbo wrapped his arms around Thorin’s neck as he returned the kiss. He broke away before they got out of hand and promised to be back later as Balin explained what would continue from this point forward. Thorin sat at the edge of the bed as Bilbo made his way out of the room following Balin, Dwalin having already exited out into the hallway. Once in the hallway Bilbo shuddered at the sound of the massive doors closing. He looked back as the guards locked and went back to sitting post outside the room.

“What now?” Balin looked back at Bilbo as Bilbo caught up with Dwalin and Balin.

“I think it’s best you get a bath and food before we continue this conversation.” Bilbo flushed as he dropped back a few paces to avoid being smelt by the other two. “You can meet us in the king’s tent once you’ve done both of those things.” Bilbo nodded as he followed them past several other doorways and long hallways, things he hadn’t paid attention to when he first came running down here to see to Thorin. Now he made mental landmarks as they made turns and walked down hallways in case he ever wanted to get back here. He couldn’t help but feel rather chilled the further he walked away from Thorin. He just hoped that Thorin didn’t get any worse while he was away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe I talk so much in the notes. Anyways, I hope you do check out LuciferisSatan's story it's a great read while you wait for me to update. I also put up a new chapter for Prayer of the Refugee if you want some more angst. I hope you all enjoyed I'll see you in probably two days, I like to give JuniAsat, Marvelous Universe, and AlicetheBrave time to get in a good read before I throw another chapter at them. Love you guys and your comments give me life for this story. Thank you so much. (Also if there's anything you'd like me to put in go ahead and say so in the comments I'm always down to do some scenes for you guys.)  
> Bilbo is such a brat. Also for the sake of sexiness they say fuck. Yeah that's a rule. Also my story my rules Hobbits males aren't human males so I don't think the same refractory period applies. They are known for their huge families anyways....so  
> Sorry this took me an extra day because I am nervous about writing bad sex scenes so, please let me know and I will just delete my account and never bother ya'll again.  
> Did I use lyrics from an old nightcore song I like? Yes. Do I feel Shame? No. Is it still fitting? Fuck Yes.


	8. A Discussion of Manners

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes I'm a few days late, but I wanted to get a quick chapter for PotR up first before I got back to this one. I'm tempted to post a completely optional chapter in a separate story that is really me making fun of Thorin after Bilbo leaves, but that's up to you guys if you want to see what it is Thorin does while Bilbo isn't with him.  
> Also Kili is precious and just because he has a beard doesn't mean he's the brightest crayon in the toolbox. Bless his heart.

Bilbo struggled to keep up with Balin and Dwalin as they made their way through the mountain. He had a soreness between his legs and he was starving. He wanted to eat and bathe but he wasn’t sure which one he wanted more. He wanted to wrap himself up back into Thorin’s coat, but he didn’t think that would be a possibility tonight. He did still have to start on his letter to Dis as he wasn’t sure when the letters would be leaving the mountain to head to the Blue Mountains. He also wanted to see to make sure that Kili had started writing his own letter to his mother. Bilbo could hear the sound of laughter and could smell cooking as they moved into the common area. Bilbo saw Bofur amongst the crowd and the dwarf waved at him to join him. Bilbo pointed to Balin and Dwalin and Bofur watched with a curious glance as they continued through the crowd. Bilbo made a face that he was sorry which Bofur shrugged at before going back to eating.

Bilbo was led to their bathing areas where there was always at least a large basin of water, whether it was warm or cold was depending on what time of day it was. When Bilbo entered the tent he was surprised to see steam coming off the bath. He thanked Yavanna that he would get a warm bath at this time in the evening.

“We’ll make sure there’s some food left for you in the common hall. You know where to find us when you’re done.” Balin closed the curtain behind him and Bilbo wasted no time in stripping down to get into the bath. He slowly stepped in as his body acclimated to the relatively hot water. He must have been in time to receive a fresh bath, or somehow Balin had the forethought to have him drawn a fresh bath. Bilbo dunked his head into the water and ran his fingers through his hair as the water pulled out the dirt and mess he had made of himself. He resurfaced and wiped the hair from his eyes. Upon opening his eyes he was shocked to find Fili and Kili sitting on either side of the basin. Bilbo splashed them both in his fright and tried to cover himself in the water. They both made a noise as the hot water splashed them.

“Bilbo!” Fili was wiping the water from his face.

“Bilbo? You two showed up unannounced on _my_ bath time. Being splashed is the least of your worries.” Bilbo shot them both a glare. “What are you two doing in here?” Bilbo adjusted to that his back was more securely on the basin as he was unable to use his hands to keep him above water.

“We heard you went to see Uncle.” Kili scooted closer to the basin.

“Yeah, we wanted to know how he was doing.” Bilbo was glad the bath was warm or he wouldn’t be able to excuse the flush that came to his face as he thought of the time he spent with Thorin. Rolling hips and bruising bite marks came to the forefront of his mind and he had to bite down on his tongue to stop himself.

“He’s surprisingly healed.” Was the only thing Bilbo could think to say. For a dwarf that had been stabbed in the foot he had surprising use of his feet and legs.

“That’s the stone.” Kili piped in. “The stone sense that helps us navigate also helps us heal. It’s because Aulë made our forefathers of stone and so whenever we are within its walls we heal faster and can sense things other species can’t.” Bilbo looked at Kili’s eye as he explained. His face was completely healed and what scar there was seemed hardly note worthy. Fili’s arm was fully functional as well as he had taken to writing up several documents for Thorin in his absence.

“But about Thorin. Was that it?” Bilbo groaned as he put nearly his whole head in water. Only his eyes remained above the water as he shot a glare at both of them. “Come on Bilbo, it’s been weeks since we’ve seen him and no one will talk about him.” Bilbo wanted to be mad at them for pestering him during his bath but he could see that they missed their uncle sincerely. Bilbo came back up out of the water and sighed.

“He’s otherwise well. We talked about putting him into isolation. After I eat I have to go speak with Balin and Dwalin about what’s going to happen now.” Fili had an eyebrow quirked up as if to debate the talking portion of Bilbo’s story, but he stayed silent for Kili’s sake. The poor dwarf was going to have to figure out the sheer ramifications of what Bilbo was to Thorin on his own terms.

“Bilbo? Who attacked you?” Bilbo turned to face Kili with a break neck speed. It seemed that time would have to be now.

“Uh, Kili.” Fili tried to cut in.

“Who would lay a harmful hand on the fourteenth member of this company?” Kili’s voice started to rise a little in anger. Bilbo reached a hand out and put it on Kili’s shoulder.

“It’s okay Kili, they didn’t mean any harm.” Kili stared at the dark marks around Bilbo’s neck and shoulders. Bilbo didn’t know what he himself looked like, but he could only imagine what both Fili and Kili were looking at as the redness of the bath was bringing out the start of the bruises. “It’s not worth getting upset over, I promise.” Bilbo squeezed Kili’s shoulder. Kili squinted his eyes, but didn’t say anymore. Bilbo gave a genuine smile and put his hand back in the water to cover himself. He turned to see Fili with his head in his hands. “Now will you two please let me take a bath in peace?” Bilbo rolled his eyes. “And Kili you should be working on your letter to your mother.” Bilbo chastised. Kili’s face lit up at the mention of the letter to his mother.

“That’s one of the reasons I came down here!” Kili dug around in his pockets. “I finished it! I want you to read it.” Bilbo pressed his lips together as he looked at the excitement on Kili’s face. “Please!”

“Alright, alright, but you’ll have to read it to me.” Bilbo moved in the water to punctuate his point.

“Sure!” Kili unfolded the letter.

“Can I read you mine too?” Fili started to rifle through his coats to find his own letter. Bilbo hummed but nodded.

“Yes, but you both need to turn around so I can finish getting cleaned up.” They both immediately turned in their stools and Bilbo was free to listen and clean himself in the bath. He listened as Kili started with his letter. He smiled softly at listening to the boys recount their experiences at arriving to Erebor. He was sure once Dis read their letters she would make the seasons change just so she could see her sons.

xXx

Bilbo had made sure to eat and spend some time with Bofur, Ori, and Nori before he went to see Balin. Bofur’s arm was almost completely healed, he still had some weakness, but he was otherwise healed up. Nori had chosen to keep an eye patch over the place where his eye had been and Ori walked with a cane as his missing toes had proved difficult to get used to. Bilbo ignored the way Bofur and Nori stared at his neck. Ori seemed more pleased to get to have a dinner with Bilbo as it had been some time. Bilbo typically took his meals later and at his cot as he was always last to retire. Dori made a pass by once to check in on Ori and Nori before wishing them all goodnight and leaving the four of them to continue in their conversations. Mainly it was Bofur grumbling about being on restriction still as he couldn’t lift the usual amount with both arms as he normally could. Nori had been allowed to lift items as he was grouped with Bilbo and Dori where they could help him with his eye sight. Other then standing a little close than he normally did Nori was fine to help clear the debris left from the dragon.

Ori had been helping Bombur in the kitchens as he could hold a knife and cut while sitting down. He missed writing, but until Thorin was healed they didn’t want to risk anyone knowing that their king had been isolated for his own safety. Finally when they had all said their goodnights Bilbo had made his way back to meet with Balin. While the bath had helped with the initial soreness, the walking wasn’t helping at any rate. He looked around at the groups of people that were gathered around fires to keep warm. Initially the large groups were a necessity rather than a desire, but as the cold pressed against the mountain and the stone was cold nearly all day as the winter crept into the kingdom, people started to search each other out. Those who would have otherwise been secluded to their private groups would branch out and seek others out. Often people they didn’t know or only fought next to. The children had a special place as they were almost always the instigators of friendships between the groups. Bilbo was always fond of the way the young children were excited by the elves advanced ability to play hide and seek as their eyesight was far superior to that of the humans or dwarrow. Bilbo would often find children in the strangest of places and they would simply shush him and continue to try and hide from the said elf that was in charge of finding them. Other times the dwarrow would hold competitions on how many children they could hold with their arms alone.

He was sure that Dwalin or Dain held the current record, but he hadn’t been around to witness either of them, just heard about their feats from the children that were often running amuck in the common area. A lot of the children were too young to be overly helpful as they needed constant supervision especially with a lot of the mountain still in rumble and could be lost anywhere. While occasional spats still broke out, typically between elves and dwarrow, they were resolved quickly by Bard or Dain. Winter in a kingdom that wasn’t reinforced wasn’t a place to get into large quarrels that would put anyone at risk of the elements. Bilbo made his way to Balin and soon enough he was at the only tent that still had a lantern lit. Bilbo carefully crossed into the threshold to see Balin hunched over some papers. He was the only one in the tent and for that he was relieved. Balin looked up as Bilbo entered and took a seat in one of the stools nearby. Balin put his writings away and looked at Bilbo with an unreadable expression.

“I figure we just get right into, hm?” Balin cut through the silence with a gentle voice. Bilbo wondered how much time he had spent with an aggressive king to suddenly approach things with such a reverence.

“Yes, that would be best.” Bilbo cleared his throat and tried not to seem as nervous as he felt. He didn’t want to draw any unwanted attention to how he must look, if Kili could be the judge of his appearance. Balin looked at him with a raised eyebrow, goading Bilbo into speaking. Bilbo cleared his throat once more before he started to speak, “I don’t know if it’s all the influence of the dragon.” Balin steepled his hands in front of his face.

“We started to notice that when he wasn’t getting any better.”

“It’s like, he’s being torn in two halves of himself.” Bilbo finally found the rhythm to speak. Once he got past his initial nerves he started to let the words fall out of his mouth.

“Well, that’s essentially what’s happening.” Bilbo tilted his head at Balin. “With being separated from his One for so long, his soul has been exposed without being able to join its partner.” Balin leaned back and put his hands in his lap. “The moment he realized you were his One, subconsciously of course, his soul started to open itself to receive the other half. With you not knowing of our customs this has left his soul exposed to so much clutter. It makes him susceptible to being influenced by outside sources, like that of the gold of Erebor.” Bilbo listened intently to everything Balin was saying. He was leaning forward slightly as if to absorb the words Balin was uttering in the confines of the tent. He remembered when he came to Balin in concern when Thorin was single-mindedly focused on the Arkenstone. How the older dwarf was so certain that Thorin had fallen under the same Gold Sickness as his grandfather. The tears in his eyes as he spoke to Bilbo. This didn’t bring tears to Balin’s eyes, which meant that it could be remedied.

“What are we to do now then? Shouldn’t we….start courting?” Bilbo took a moment to fully process the meaning of his words. He had said he would stay, but what would courting a king entail. And with rebuilding Erebor so soon?

“We can’t. Not yet.” Bilbo watched as Balin idly stroked at his beard. “His soul is coming apart from being exposed unnecessarily for too long.” Bilbo couldn’t help the stab of guilt every time the length of Thorin’s seeming suffering was brought up. Oh how Bilbo had been a foolish Baggins to ignore the thing in front of him. “We have to bring him into one piece before we start _ze bund_ or you both may fall into a madness.”

“How are we going to do that?” Bilbo wondered if the reason no one knew about the Dwarven courting ceremonies was because there was so much risk involved. Did every dwarrow meet their One? Was this something that was constantly on their mind that should one day they meet their One and their entire mind, body, and soul become a magnet for illness in the world? What were to happen if they were rejected? How could you reject someone that was forged of your same soul? Thorin had mentioned that it was fatal. Bilbo would admit that Hobbits weren’t the most straight forward creatures out there with their habits of speaking in political gossip, but at least he didn’t have to worry that should he not marry his soul mate he would die, that was if he ever met his soul mate. He cradled his head in his hands as his mind wandered.

“For right now, we’re going to start reintroducing you into his routine. But just a little. If too much you might accidentally bond before we have a chance to put his soul back together.” Bilbo gulped, looking at Balin through his fingers. “Then when his soul is back in one piece – as much as it is without you – we’ll bring him out of isolation and we’ll start the courting process.” Balin got out of his chair and placed a tentative hand on Bilbo’s shoulder. “I know it’s a lot lad.” Bilbo scoffed. A lot was an understatement. This was life or death for Thorin, and maybe himself. He didn’t know how it would work given that they weren’t even the same species. “While you are spending time with Thorin, myself and Ori will go searching for the library to see if there are firstly, any remnants that weren’t burned by Smaug, and secondly, any books about Ones from different species. If not I will have Ori work on coming up with a proper course of action for the courting to be seen as proper.” Balin squeezed Bilbo’s shoulder. “I know it seems like a trivial and all consuming expense when Erebor doesn’t even have a proper kingdom reestablished, but it’s better to do it right this once than to do it again for show when the rest of the dwarves get here from the Blue Mountains.”

Bilbo closed his eyes again as he took deep breaths.

“That is, if you go into this willing. We don’t want to force you into anything you don’t want, Bilbo.” Bilbo stood up abruptly, shaking Balin off with a harsh jerk.

“Of course I want this! I don’t want Thorin to die! I love him and just because Hobbit’s don’t have soul mates doesn’t mean we don’t love!” Bilbo’s voice rose until it broke and he had tears falling down his face. He stood with his hands clenched at his sides.

“I didn’t say that, lad. I just want to make sure that this is really what you want. There is no backing out once we start the courting process, we’ve done too much damage to Thorin’s soul to ever go back. I want to know now if I have to say goodbye to my king.” There was a sadness in Balin’s voice at the end and Bilbo felt guilty for snapping at him. This was going to be an extremely tedious process and if done wrong they would lose a king that they had followed across Arda to fight alongside.

“No, I couldn’t back out now, I – “ Bilbo gasped as the tears were more fierce now and he took deep breaths of air to try and calm himself down. “ – I can’t lose him.” Bilbo sobbed as his vision blurred to the point that he couldn’t see and he sat down on the ground in a huff as he continued to sob. Balin knelt next to him and rubbed a hand on his back. He was whispering something to Bilbo, but he couldn’t understand him as his sobs clouded his ears. “Tell me what I need to do to help him and I’ll do anything!” Bilbo pounded his fists into his thighs. Balin grabbed his wrists and held them together.

“We’ll get through this together, and Thorin will be in one piece. I can assure you that.” Bilbo continued to cough as the tears spilled from his eyes. “It’s alright, Bilbo. I know we can get through this.” Bilbo grabbed at Balin’s coat and buried his face into the older dwarf’s chest. It wasn’t proper by any means, but he hadn’t realized the entire situation until just now. As if he had repressed the thought that if Bilbo had decided to leave that Thorin would die. For all his hard work it wouldn’t be a sword that took down the king, but a selfish hobbit who wanted to get back to his mother’s china and seat by the fire. Bilbo took a few deep breaths before he released his hold on Balin’s coat and wiped at his face. Balin offered him a kerchief and he wiped the rest of his tears up before blowing his nose.

“Come on now, I’m sure there’s some things you need to work out before you go to see Thorin tomorrow.” Bilbo felt Balin’s hand’s on his forearms as he helped Bilbo to his feet. Bilbo begrudgingly followed. Bilbo followed Balin as he led him towards the cots that Fili and Kili had kept for the three of them. He noticed that whenever there were available spots Ori, Dori, Bofur, and Dwalin joined their little group. It was rare to find all thirteen of them together again as Thorin being in his own room while everyone else was either on night watch or they weren’t enough available cots to squeeze together like they used to. It was something he didn’t realize he missed until he was no longer surrounded by the snores of his companions. He had to remind himself that they were safe as they were now with a mountain over their heads and the threat of the dragon no longer looming over them. He saw Fili and Kili were asleep under their shared blankets. He thanked Balin for walking with him and collapsed on the cot face down. He was still sniffling a little and was surprised when he felt a weight fall over him. He turned his head to see both Fili and Kili had put a portion of their blankets over him and Kili went so far as to put his head on Bilbo’s shoulder. Fili reached out into the blanket between them and grabbed Bilbo’s hand. Bilbo gave a squeeze to Fili and leaned his head back to nudge Kili in a reassuring way.

It wasn’t long before he was lulled into an otherwise peaceful slumber.

xXx

When he woke up he began his routine very much the same, he fought to get out from the infinite wrap of blankets he always found himself in, and once he was awake he would make his way to the dining area. Fili was usually awake much sooner than he was now as he woke with Balin and Dwalin to begin the briefings with Bard, Dain, and Thranduil. Kili often was woken up to go stand sentry at the gates. He was usually left to wake up on his own terms to start working on the construction projects of the day. He started off with the dining area where Nori and Gloin were sitting together. Bilbo grabbed some food from Bombur and made his way over to them.

“Bilbo, morning to you.” Nori chirped. Bilbo nodded as sleep was still pulling at his feet to go lay in his cot. The crying he had done last night had worn him out more than he had liked to admit. “We got good news.” Bilbo started to sip at his soup absently as he listened to Nori with one ear. “Word’s gone round that Legolas is returning with some supplies and Dain’s got a caravan arriving today with as much food they could spare.” Bilbo hummed as Nori informed him of the upcoming events of the mountain. A bowl landing next to Bilbo startled him as Bofur sat down with a heap. He looked worse than Bilbo did.

“And how did you come about this news?” Bilbo was sure that wasn’t something that was just going around the mountain and Nori had particularly procured that piece of information. Bofur groaned as he started on his soup.

“Please tell me they’re bringing meat.” Bofur chewed on a carrot begrudgingly. “I require the taste of flesh.” Bilbo chuckled and reached into his pockets to pull out some jerky he had managed to save from the last elk they had found. He had planned on eating it today after saving it under his cot, but decided that Bofur looked like he needed it much more.

“Bilbo, I could kiss you right now.” Bofur grabbed the jerky and bit wholeheartedly into the piece. “’Cept pretty sure I’d be the first execution of the new kingdom of Erebor.” Bofur made a triumphant gesture with the jerky in his hand. Bilbo flushed red at the implication. He looked back at his bowl.

“Nori, you didn’t answer my question.” Bilbo hurried to stuff his mouth full of soup.

“And you didn’t give me any jerky.” Nori raised the only eyebrow he had. He was going to have to work on his range of emotions now that he only had one eye and any blink he did might be misconstrued.

“You know the bastard’s been sneaking about.” Gloin grumbled over his bowl. “You’d think losing an eye would keep his scheming at bay.” Gloin put the bowl to his lips as he drank the rest of the broth and wiped his mouth when he was finished. “Seeing as he only be seeing half as good now.” He shoved at Nori as he stood up to take his bowl back to Bombur.

“I don’t need _eyes_ to hear unlike your _brother_!” Nori called after and Gloin didn’t bother to turn around to acknowledge him. Once Gloin was gone Nori and Bofur closed in on Bilbo. He stared intently at his soup to avoid their pressing gazes.

“Bilbo, if I didn’t know any better I’d say you’d been attacked by a caragor.” Bofur leaned in to try and get Bilbo to look at him.

“Caragors aren’t usually this far north.” Nori pondered with mock confusion.

“I guess you’re right, Nori. Must have been one hell of a fall.” Bofur moved to poke at Bilbo’s neck. “But those sure look like teeth to me.” Bilbo shoved his spoon in Bofur’s face. Nori opened his mouth to seemingly count the teeth in his mouth.

“Ai’ as’n’t ‘on’ o’ ‘ien’.” Nori tried to say with a finger still in his mouth. “And I would definitely remember if I left those there.” Bilbo arched his back to try and hide his neck. Maybe he could ask one of the elves for a coat as they typically had higher collars. Would he be tripping on it all day? Yes. Would it stop people from pointing at his neck? Yes. Really he didn’t see a downside. If he just so happened to fall down a mine shaft because of it than who was to say it was an accident so long as it got people to stop commenting on the marks on his neck. Bofur opened his mouth to do a similar inspection of his teeth as Nori had done.

“We should go check the company’s teeth for any similarities.” Bofur made a sidelong glance at Nori.

“Who says it’s someone in the company?” Bilbo stuffed his mouth with soup as soon as he said it. Nori and Bofur both back off a second before sharing a look and laughing.

“Aye, I’d pay a pretty penny to see you shaggin’ an elf Bilbo.” Nori guffawed more as he said it. Bilbo pressed his lips together and held tightly onto his bowl.

“Would you keep your voices down! There are children nearby!” Bilbo whispered harshly as kept his eyes focused on the bowl in front of him. Bofur was still laughing loudly next to him. Bilbo moved his bowl aside and started to shovel Bofur’s soup down, which promptly made him cease his laughing.

“Hey! That’s my soup!” Bilbo continued to stuff his mouth with broth until the bowl was empty and he went for Nori’s next who hadn’t quite figured that he would be a target of the attack.

“Mhm, this is all mine and you both can explain to Bombur why you need seconds.” Bilbo said between spoonfuls, hurriedly drinking the rest of Nori’s and handing his bowl back with a polite smile. Bilbo grabbed his bowl and spoon and quickly turned around to give his bowl back to Bombur. He looked back a moment and saw Nori and Bofur staring dumbfounded at their empty bowls. Bilbo left the dining area in a hurry. He was going to have a stomach ache later, but it was almost worth it to get them to stop teasing him. Bilbo wandered into the front hall where there was an elf directing people on where to go. He got in line as he waited to be grouped together with others for their daily project. His entire body was sore, not just from last night, but from being stuck removing various large objects from the surrounding destruction Smaug had caused. When he got to the front of the line the elf pointed towards a group of mostly dwarves from Dain’s army and a few men and elves.

“We’re expecting more supplies in today, so we’re going to have you guys get started on clearing the front gates of debris so the caravans can arrive safely.” The elf called over the chatter. “You guys will be in charge of scouting to make sure the area is safe along the borders of Erebor to receive the caravan.” Bilbo was not grouped with them. The elf in charge continued to direct groups where they were most needed until he joined along with the scouting party and everyone dispersed to get started on their work. He would be in charge of cleaning the main hall as they waited for Dain’s supply caravan to arrive. Bilbo wished he hadn’t give Bofur that jerky right about now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I gotta know....how come this story has a comment/kudo ratio of like 2:1 but Prayer of the Refugee has a comment ratio of 10:1? Is it the hits? Is it because PotR went on a completely unhinged hiatus like Supernatural's season 15? Be honest with me. I can handle it. 
> 
> For those of you who are new, I was entirely joking I just think it's funny when there is such disparity in my stories. Some get huge hits and lots of comments but some get a few hits and lots of kudos. Does it help when I interact in the comments? TELL ME THE SECRET SAUCE.  
> Ai’ as’n’t ‘on’ o’ ‘ien’ = It doesn't look like any of mine.  
> Just in case ya'll needed a translation.


	9. Bring Round the Courting Rituals

After several hours of clearing the main gate they managed to make it clear enough for the caravan to come through. Which was good timing given that the scouting party had seen them entering the outskirts of Erebor’s territory not long after they had broke for lunch. Ori had joined him briefly to speak about how he and Balin had gone searching for the library. They had taken a few other dwarves to help with their search. So far they had found what they thought were remnants of the great library, but they couldn’t be certain if it was remnants of the library or pieces of the library had been moved in the chaos of Smaug’s arrival. Ori was hopeful that they would find it soon, what Balin had remembered of Erebor before Smaug he was sure that the library would have held and what they had found was simply a random happenstance. He had a light to his eyes that Bilbo cherished to see. He seemed to be adjusting to using his cane, often going without it most of the time when walking around Erebor. Voices from all around carried in the amphitheater that was their dining hall. The prospect of more supplies had everyone in better moods than they had had in weeks. Bilbo felt his heart quicken a little at the thought that they might be experiencing some changes here soon. With Legolas coming back with even more supplies before the winter froze over the lake they might be able to make the mountain residents survive with a little more comfort room. If they didn’t have Thranduil and Dain helping with resources they might not have all made it through the winter.

A few dwarrow and men shared in some loud laughter which had Ori turning his head. Dain was sitting among them as he recounted events from the battle. Now that their wounds were healed and the heaviness in their hearts was lightening people were more willing to hear about the events that happened between all the races. A few children had gathered, they were always interested in stories of the battle. Bilbo nudged Ori to get him to finish eating his meal.

“You were there Ori, there’s no need to ogle.” Bilbo prodded around a spoonful of stew. He made sure to keep his tone light as he remarked to Ori.

“I know, but I didn’t see everything.” He sounded almost a little disappointed. “I want to make sure in our records I get the most accounts as I possibly can.” Ori took a few more bites of stew. He chewed on a potato before poking his spoon in Bilbo’s direction. “You still have to tell me how you managed to defeat Azog.” Bilbo felt his ears grow hot at the thought of revealing to Ori the magic ring he had found that had helped them all in so many different ways.

“It’s really not that eventful.” Bilbo picked up his bowl to try and hide his face as he continued eating his stew.

“You killed the orc that cheated death once and chased us all the way across Arda!” Ori’s raised voice and subject matter was gaining a few turned heads. He could hear the start of whispering around them. _The halfing killed the Pale Orc? He’s a hobbit not a Halfling you slouch haven’t you been listening to the company. He’s so small. Barely looks like he can lift a sword. My arrow is bigger than he is. It looks like he’s already had his reward for the kill._ Bilbo blushed as his ears tried to tune out the whispers from around them. “Bilbo Orc Slayer.” Ori teased. Bilbo groaned as he tried to hide his face some more. “Bilbo the Hobbit of Erebor.” Bilbo put his bowl down and turned on Ori.

“Why does everyone insist on teasing me when it’s my time to eat. I just come here looking for company and nourishment and you lot have it in your heads to jest with me.” Bilbo chided in a light tone. Ori chuckled as he continued spooning food into his mouth. He hummed as he chewed. With his mouth still full he announced,

“Bilbo Baggins who wrestled with a dragon and won and without losing an ounce of strength defeated Azog. That’s only a fraction of his power!” Ori announced to the table. Bilbo huffed as he put his hands on the table. Several pairs of eyes and ears were trained fully on them now. _Smaug and Azog? But Bard took down Smaug? Yes but who do you think sent him running out of the mountain?_ Ori was having a good laugh as more bodies seemed keen on listening in. “Think of what he could do on a full stomach after seven full courses!” Ori, now keen on impressing the large table, had turned his gaze on the people listening. “You know what they say about hobbit feet?” Bilbo gasped. The nerve of the young dwarf. “They have more power in their littlest toe than Angband had in his entire body!” He wiggled his pinky for good cause. A few people started to chuckle.

“It’s right he doesn’t even wear shoes!” A small child had peeked under the table and exclaimed to the group. The group had erupted in laughter and Bilbo couldn’t resist the small smile that the child had earned from him.

“Ah, if he wore shoes think of the consequences of containing such raw power?” Ori made a motion with his hands to indicate a large explosion. Bilbo put an arm on the table and leaned on his hand as he watched Ori start to brag about him. If he couldn’t stop him he could at least enjoy the spectacle. “He faced down Azog the Defiler not once, but twice! He saved King Thorin upon meeting the brackish orc the first time.”

“And the second time.” Ori turned to him in shock. No one besides Thorin knew that he had risked his life twice to have a go at Azog, both times saving Thorin from the brink of death. Bilbo had a lazy grin as he leaned on his hand and he could feel the eyes turn on him. He had basically everyone’s attention at the table.

“Bilbo Baggins the King’s Shield!” Ori laughed. Bilbo rolled his eyes. Someone grabbed the shoulder Bilbo wasn’t leaning on and saw Kili and Nori. He groaned. There was no way he was getting out of this one.

“Bilbo fell through the mines of Goblin Town and the hair on his feet saved him from his fall.” Kili piped up. He knew he shouldn’t have told that dwarf about him being knocked down the crevices of the Misty Mountains where he would eventually meet back up with them before they would be chased by Azog. A chuckle rippled through the crowd.

“I used to have two eyes, but after trying to take a bite out of Bilbo’s lemon cake…” Bilbo smacked Nori’s arm.

“I would – “ he paused for a moment. “ – Okay I might, but it has been quite a long time since I’ve had any cake, thank you very much.” The group erupted in laughter and someone else tapped Bilbo on his back. He turned to see Balin motioning to him. Bilbo grabbed his dishes and followed Balin. Kili and Nori took over his spot as Ori continued to talk of their adventures regarding their personal hobbit.

“I see the ‘Ri brother’s have gotten you quite famous.” Bilbo huffed as he finished off his soup quickly before he handed some dishwashing humans his bowl. He thanked them with a smile and followed Balin.

“It seems that I misjudged who was the story teller amongst the group.” He dared a glance back at Ori who was suddenly on Kili’s shoulders and he rolled his eyes. He caught up until he was walking side by side with Balin.

“He is a scribe after all.” Bilbo hummed. Ori would be the one to help with writing the new records once they found time to sit down and start recording. That would be much farther in the future of Erebor’s rebuilding.

“That he is. He told me a little of your adventures looking for the library.” Bilbo followed as Balin led them both through the tunnels of Erebor. None of this stuff had been touched to be cleaned, probably out of desire to keep people from wandering into places that weren’t yet declared safe by the dwarrow.

“Yes, if I remember correctly it’s just beyond where we reached, but there has been a collapse in the walkway, so we have to find a way to cross before we can get further. I’m excited to see what remains of the library.” He couldn’t help but notice the way his voice seemed distant. Like he worried that when they found the library it would be a shell of its former glory. Bilbo would be lying if he didn’t also find that worry keeping his thoughts running from the future. Courting a king was one thing, but doing so among the wreckage of a recently reclaimed kingdom without any guidelines was a constant concern at the forefront of his mind. Putting together a kingdom from the ground up was a daunting task, but also doing so while your soul was being stripped apart was an entirely inconceivable feat. Bilbo started to see the large doors come into view and he found his heart aching to be near Thorin again. He wondered if there were some old writings about a hobbit’s heart being made of another’s. A perfect match. Maybe they had just never heard of soul mate because they weren’t a people who often experienced solitude. Love had so many facets to it, it would be hard for a single hobbit to find they were craving in any regards.

The guards made way to open the doors for Balin and Bilbo and he nearly ran past the dwarf in his excitement. He calmed his face, unsure of what they would be stepping into. Bilbo was surprised to see several more chairs added and another desk. Bilbo tried to keep his eyes on Thorin’s back as he was hunched over his desk, scribbling on a piece of paper, and not looking at the freshly made bed that looked like it hadn’t been slept in since it was remade after their – he silenced his mind as he saw Thorin finally turn around and address them.

“Thorin you must eat.” Thorin stood up and took long strides to greet Bilbo. His eyes were his usual blue and Bilbo felt his chest tighten as he approached. Thorin wrapped him in his arms and Bilbo chuckled softly, he was suddenly back on the Carrock after being attacked by Azog and his troupe. _I have never been so wrong_. Oh, who would have known just how far that would extend. Bilbo chuckled a little as Thorin continued to hold onto him. He could feel his muscles tense and release a few times before they relaxed and let go of him. He pulled back to look at Bilbo with a charming smirk.

“I was waiting for Bilbo to join me.” He could hear Balin rolling his eyes. He put his hands on Thorin’s forearms and Thorin released him from his grasp. He let Bilbo lead him back to his desk where a cold bowl of stew sat. Bilbo sighed and motioned to it. Thorin looked a little sheepish, but sat down nonetheless and began eating.

“Bilbo, have a seat, it’s best we get started discussing finer details as we work towards the Bonding Ceremony.” Bilbo nodded, one eye still one Thorin to make sure he would eat all of his stew. Bilbo sat in one of the chairs that had been brought in and situated himself so that he had his back to the other desk that had been added. Bilbo wondered if it was likely he would be able to take notes. If he knew anything about the dwarves it’s that they were particularly elaborate. The contract hiding away in his cot was proof of that. He instead sat patiently while he and Balin waited for Thorin to finish eating. Bilbo swore that Thorin hurried along when he realized that they were waiting on him. Soon enough the bowl and spoon made a small clatter as Thorin put them on his desk and looked itching to move closer to Bilbo. His fingers tightened on the edge of the seat, but he kept firm next to his desk.

“What color would you like to wear for the wedding?” Bilbo nearly choked as Thorin blurted out into the quiet room. Balin sighed heavily, saving Bilbo from responding.

“You know there is a course of action before that can be seen to Thorin.” Bilbo watched as Thorin’s eyes started to muddy as his self control fought to keep himself in check. Being told ‘no’ when it came to his wants and desires seemed to set off the other side of him. He kept his face neutral, but he grabbed at his leg with a little more force than he was used to seeing from Thorin in an otherwise relaxed state. Finally his eyes seemed to settle and they remained the tender shade of blue he had grown accustomed to.

“What course would that be?” Bilbo butted in. He turned his gaze from Thorin to glance at Balin. He wondered if Balin had ever seen the way Thorin seemed to be controlled by several parts of him, each vying for control at any given moment.

“Well, typically what happens is Thorin would approach your parents and ask for your hand by offering goods of some kind. It usually involves the dwarf’s given trade or wealth which ever was greater. And then once agreed upon exchange was made than you would live with each other, typically within your parent’s household until you performed _zebund_.” Bilbo felt a bit of heartache at the thought that neither of them had their parents with them during this, even without dwarven customs parents were highly involved in Hobbit marriage traditions. He must have shown some sadness in his face because he felt a hand on his. “This is going to be one of those obstacles we must see through.” Balin reassured him. “Seeing as neither of you have parents to approach on the subject, nor does Thorin hold status yet to court you as a king until his crowning ceremony.” Bilbo swung his feet as the chair was slightly too tall for him, he dared a glance out of the corner of his eye at Thorin. He looked equally upset.

“So what if a dwarf needn’t have anything to offer?” Bilbo focused on the moment at hand rather than the thought of their missing parents to further along the courting rituals.

“Then the dwarf would work for their intended’s parents until however long was agreed upon for the missing currency.” Bilbo pressed his lips together.

“You dwarves trade each other for marriage with money and crafts?” Bilbo seemed to recoil at the thought. Balin let go of his hand as Bilbo sat back in shock. “You _buy_ your intended?” He looked between Thorin and Balin. They both looked confused.

“No, not buy, it’s more of insurance. That their son or daughter will be treated well. A dwarf of low status who cannot provide with craft or wealth and will not work for their in laws is frowned upon. They are not suitable as spouses.” Balin explained a little clearer. Bilbo still had his eyebrows raised, but he was starting to see their side. “Well, how is it done in the Shire?” Balin leaned forward, somewhat eager to hear.

“Well we typically start by exchanging gifts and over the course of a few weeks or months the man typically asks the woman’s parents for her hand. But we don’t buy our spouses. Our names are the strongest suit in our deck. A Baggins could marry anyone and it would be an honor, but a Took to marry anyone other than a Took is seen as scandalous. My mother caused quite a stir when she married my father. Not only did she ask _his_ parents for his hand, but she was a Took from a Brandybuck/Took lineage to marry a respectable Baggins. It was talk of the Shire for years until after I was born.” Bilbo watched as now it was their faces that were contorted in confusion and shock.

“And what if there are two males? Or two females?” Thorin seemed somewhat aghast at the prospect. He wasn’t sure if it was from their traditions or the scandalous way his parents had shook the Shire.

“They don’t marry.” Thorin stood up in absolute shock. He looked down at Bilbo with such anguish. “They don’t go through the formalities, at least.” Thorin seemed to calm down a little bit at that. “If two hobbit lads wish to get married and live together they just do. Same for the lasses. There are some downsides as typically their family doesn’t recognize their partner as a spouse and thus if anything happens to their spouse they have no financial stability or reassurance.” Thorin looked ready to march back to the Shire and tell them just what he thought of their trite restrictions on marriage. “But we all have Aunts who live with their ‘partner’ down in the South Farthing or down near the Brandywine. They usually move to the outskirts of town, but they find typically find couples just like them and they enjoy their lives away from the prying eyes and nosy whispers of the rest of the Shire. I have an aunt who lives with her spouse at the border of the Barrow Downs and the Old Forest. Aunt Agnes and her wife Belline even run a bed and breakfast for people who don’t wish to stay in Bree.” Bilbo watched the range of emotions flow over Thorin’s face. “Agnes is a Brandybuck and her wife Belline is a Bolger, so they didn’t cause quite a stir as my mother and father did even though they happened about the same time. It’s probably why they find such comfort in their relationship because not many people remember them going off together.”

“Well, we each have much to learn about one another’s customs.” Balin raised his hands a little to diffuse the situation. Thorin looked on the verge of yelling at the striking difference in their customs. “So, the issue of parents seems to be a problem, but surely one we can remedy. Do you have any close family in the Shire?” Bilbo looked at Balin. With his parents gone the only people who could even come close to his ‘guardians’ would be Fortinbras, and that was going to be an interesting conversation. At least he could use it as a chance to claim back his smial and denote it to the family it belongs to rather than the Sackville-Baggins.

“Well, the Thain is my cousin. The real Thain of the Shire.” Bilbo saw Thorin give a sly smirk at that. “But I am the head of my household and my family name.” Bilbo supplied.

“Well, than that might be a little easier.” Thorin sat back in his chair with his arms crossed in a bit of a smug gesture. “If you are head of your household and namesake than Thorin just has to prove to you that he can provide for you in a way that is satisfactory to enact the courting rituals.” The thought that he wouldn’t be able to go back to the Shire for some time was upsetting, but he wouldn’t be able to leave with winter coming so soon anyways had him neutral to the situation. But that would also mean he would have to find some way for Thorin to prove himself to be a proper spouse and still thinking about the context of that made his face beam a bright red color and made him lightheaded. “We can discuss that later privately if you’d like. Or not at all, this is a choice entirely you must make. But I would be willing to have Ori help you make your choice if you wish to make it easier on yourself.”

“I have no idea. I would like a little time.” Balin nodded with a knowing smile. “So does any of this particularly change because I’m a hobbit?” He decided a change of pace would help his mind slow down with the thousands of ideas running through his head about their rituals and differences.

“Well most everything will proceed normally as if you were a dwarf, but the only difference would be the _zebund_. We don’t know what happens to other races who don’t experience Ones the same way we do.” Bilbo dared a glance at Thorin. His face was neutral as Balin explained the ins and outs of their ceremonies. Suddenly he stood up abruptly, the force of it sending his chair back into his desk and shaking everything on it. Thorin was glaring at Balin with a lightening colored glare. Bilbo stood up and felt the need to put himself between Balin and Thorin. As he had confirmed, Thorin would not hurt him, but he had no idea how he would treat Balin.

“No one is going to prevent me from claiming what’s mine.” Thorin snapped. He searched Bilbo’s face as Bilbo held his stance in front of Balin.

“I am not something that is to be owned, Thorin.” Bilbo held firm in his voice as he spoke to Thorin. A long silence stretched between them as Bilbo stared down the yellow eyes that plagued Thorin’s mind. A manifestation of his need to possess and the greed that ran in his families line.

“I think we should take a break. We can revisit this later, or tomorrow if need be.” Balin stood up behind Bilbo and started to walk towards the closed doors of the room. Bilbo continued to stare down Thorin until he heard the beginning of the doors opening behind him. He started to turn around when Thorin’s hand shot out and grabbed at his upper arm, forcing him to face Thorin once again. He was met with a sneer and piercing yellow eyes. They seemed to have a shine to them that he only recognized from the same way Smaug’s eyes shone in the dim lights of the mountain.

“Let go of me.” Bilbo’s tone didn’t waver. Thorin’s arm seemed to move on its own accord as it stiffly removed itself from Bilbo’s arm and moved in halted movements to Thorin’s side. Bilbo stuck his chin out and turn on his heel to follow Balin out of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for how late this is. I needed a bit of a breather and I'd run dry on the inspiration front. I know this is my story but can't Dis just show up already.  
> I also got distracted several times by listening to the Luigi's Mansion OST. *Free realestate voice* it's ADHD baby.


	10. A Belated Birthday and Writing the In Laws

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the delay, my mind is on a knife wheel spinning rapidly and I want the knives to land on 'WRITING' but they keep landing on things like 'ANIMAL CROSSING' and 'COD' and 'MAGIC' and 'WATERCOLORS' so you know, here's this chapter. Maybe I could phone a friend and get another spin on the knife wheel. I will have PotR up much sooner since I did leave on a bit of a cliff hanger.

So a pattern started to arise. Bilbo would help with work around the mountain and then throughout the day Balin would go out in search of him and they would go visit Thorin. Bilbo as elated to see the changes in Thorin as he they started to waltz around each other as they continued to talk of their future courting. Balin was still hesitant to allow Thorin back into the general populace until they could begin enacting the courting rituals that would prevent any unwanted actions by the yet-to-be-crowned king. Bilbo had taken to sitting in on the discussions with Fili, Dain, Bard, and Thranduil. Bilbo would often take to talking to Thorin about the ongoing meetings. While he still had a disdain for the elf king as an elf, he was willing to acknowledge the help he has provided for the entire mountain during the war and after. Bilbo had asked to bring Fili and Kili down to visit their uncle. After some pleading, Balin had acquiesced to the suggestion. Fili and Kili spent the majority of the time talking over each other as they rushed to tell Thorin all of the things that had been happening to them topside. Bilbo could see the pride and relief that his sister sons had survived and flourished after the battle. Bilbo enjoyed watching the way Fili and Kili stumbled over each other about the things that had happened. They told about Dis writing them and how they were expecting her letter shortly. Bilbo had done his part and written two pages about himself in the vaguest way possible, but somehow still ending up with an abundance of words for his importance in the quest for Erebor. He refrained from talking about the ongoing courting to her brother and didn’t mention anything regarding the help he had given about the trip. He mainly talked about how the company was doing and how he was fairing with the winter approaching and how he had nearly cried when Bombur made him a cherry tart from the dried cherries that Legolas had brought from Mirkwood. He was sure had he died in that moment he wouldn’t have come back to haunt anyone. After the first night of an otherwise large dinner they had immediately started rationing as the supplies would be all they would have for the winter.

He still found he was having a hard time deciding on how Thorin was going to prove that he was an adequate spouse for him. He didn’t want gold or gems, he had seen enough riches in his life to gorge a troll thank you very much. He had companionship and he doubted that Thorin was a good enough cook to take care of the most basic hobbit needs. Bilbo stayed up at night running through things he could accept from Thorin, but his mind was empty of any reasonable acts. He lay in his cot with his hands behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. He kept having to push his hair out of his eyes as it had grown quite long since leaving the Shire. Dori liked to fuss over his hair as it was unbraided and word hard started to spread that Bilbo had started the process to court Thorin. Or however the process would go with them. Balin was still stuck on one side of a pathway as they hadn’t found any safe way to cross to check to see if the library was still intact. The next couple days Ori and Balin would recruit some dwarves to help in building something to get them across safely. Bilbo wanted to join them in their search, but he found he was always whisked away by someone or other to do this task or that. The last couple days he had been stationed with Elatris and Gloin on scouting parties. Why he was asked to go on scouting parties he wasn’t sure, but he had appreciated the outside time even though the ground was starting to get a nice layer of frost every morning. When he returned he would cherish in a bath and then see if Fili was still in meetings with any of the other kings. If all else he found that he always had a seat waiting for him in the dining hall where he could eat in peace without pestering dwarrow telling extravagant stories about their travels. People had started to look and whisper at him again, but it wasn’t because he was a hobbit. It was because he was _the_ hobbit. Kids would often run up to him and ask to touch his feet hair as he heard Kili tell some children that if they pet the hair on a hobbit they were granted good luck for their life. Bilbo had only once been woken up by a child sneaking around his cot to feel the hair on his toes.

People were starting to get more along as the time wore on. The addition of more resources had people optimistic for the winter. He himself was happy to snack on some meats again and even the occasional roll. He had been allotted a few more meal breaks once word got round that hobbits ate seven meals a day. Sometimes Bifur would errand him some food from the kitchens. He had taken to helping his cousin in the kitchens as the food supplies had nearly tripled. Bilbo let his gaze linger on the darkness above them from the massive mountain around them. He heard footsteps, but didn’t look up to see who was approaching.

“They’ve arrived!” Fili announced as he got close. Bilbo sat up and looked at Fili. He had some papers in his hand and Bilbo’s heart sunk at the thought that Dis had written back. He had quietly hoped she would forget to write him and thus they could continue their relationship once she arrived in Erebor. Alas that would not be the case. “And Dis made sure to write you a letter too.” Fili waved a piece of paper in between them as he got closer. Bilbo swung his feet down so he was sitting on the side of the cot.

“Oh, joy.” Bilbo held his hand out to accept the letter. Fili sat next to him. His letter already opened. The runes on it looked neat and crisp. Bilbo worried for a moment that Dis had written him in Khuzdul and he would have to have Fili read it to him. He looked at the envelope and saw his name perfectly written in Westron. He sighed in relief as he opened up the envelope and he was greeted with three sheets of writing. He unfolded them as Fili scoffed.

“You get three pages?” He crossed his arms. His won single paper pressed tight against his chest. Bilbo gave a sheepish grin. He began to read from the letter.

_Dear Bilbo Baggins,_

_A hobbit of the Shire? An interesting choice my brother has made for the fourteenth member of his company. And you have only just turned 51! My boys must find you utterly adorable._

“51?” Fili cut in. He had made it clear he was going to read all of the letter along with him. “When did you turn fifty-one?” Bilbo hummed as he pressed his lips together.

“The first day we arrived in Laketown I believe. My birthday is September 22nd.” Bilbo attempted to continue reading.

“Wait, you had your fifty-first birthday during this trip and didn’t tell anyone?” Fili sounded affronted.

“I wasn’t like it was the biggest issue we had at hand. We had just been stuffed into fish barrels, I wasn’t about to announce that I should get the best barrel because it was my birthday.” Bilbo rolled his eyes. Fili had his jaw open in shock and he stood up abruptly.

“I’ll return shortly.” He announced and took off in a sprint. Bilbo watched with a curious gaze as Fili departed. At least he could read his letter in privacy now.

_I can tell from what the boys told me about you that you have left out a great deal of information in your letter to me. I want that remedied as quickly as possible. You have saved my boys life on several occasions and Fili tells me that you seem to have some very important aspect to you that he hasn’t revealed in so many details yet, but he has mentioned it has something to do with my brother. For that I would appreciate your clarity on the situation. I can promise complete confidentiality on my end. I want to know the hobbit of the Shire that stole from Smaug and granted us the ability to live once again in our mountain. Do not belittle yourself by undermining your achievements. Kili was exceptionally pleased to tell me about how you convinced the King of the Woodland realm that you were of royalty and the company were your companions for the trip. I would have given Smaug back the mountain to have seen the look on my brother’s face when you announced to him that. I am eager to start travelling to Erebor to make your acquaintance. Balin has also written to me and I understand that you are talented in multi-levels. Often giving my brother a run for his mountain with your wit and spark. I will be honest of all the people I expected to hear from once there was word that Erebor had been reclaimed, I did not see a hobbit from the Shire on that list. For that Bilbo Baggins I will gladly give you the honor of dwarf-friend if it has not already been awarded to you. My boys spent more time talking about the things you had done than the things that they had done in the entirety of the trip. I am glad that they have been taken into good hands. I want to thank you personally upon my arrival into Erebor. I do hope you will be there to accept it. I can’t thank you enough for taking care of my boys and I eagerly await to look upon the face of the brave hobbit who risked his life for my sons._

_Fairest regards,  
Dis_

Bilbo’s face was hot at the praise he had received from the princess of Erebor and the Blue Mountains. He folded up the papers and neatly stuck them back into the envelope. He put the letter under his makeshift pillow and lay back down. He would write back to her tomorrow after his visit with Thorin. He closed his eyes as he thought about how he was going to respond to Dis. He could hear feet heading his way and this time he looked up. He saw Fili had come back looking winded. His face was flushed and he was still panting. Bilbo wondered if he had run around the entire mountain.

“Welcome back.” Bilbo laid back down on his cot. “Where did you run off to in a hurry?” Fili sat on his own cot and took a moment to gather his breath. Bilbo could see him out of the corner of his eye, he was leaning forward, his hair in his face and hiding the exhausted look on his face. Bilbo waited while Fili caught his breath.

“Oh I just forgot to sign some documents for Bard.” Bilbo gave him a look out of the corner of his eye. He knew when Fili was lying at this point, but he didn’t want to bother with digging the truth out of him. Whatever it was would definitely surface eventually. The boys had a habit of being the worst people to keep secrets. He was sure Fili was the one who had let word slip that Bilbo and his uncle had started talking about courting.

“Alright then.” Bilbo closed his eyes again and listened as Fili settled down into the cot next to Bilbo. Bilbo heard some shuffling of clothes and Bilbo opened his eyes to see Fili laying on his stomach with his head resting on his hands and his feet propped up behind him. Bilbo stared at him for a long moment processing exactly what it was that Fili was doing. Finally Fili spoke up,

“So what did my _amad_ say?” Bilbo stayed firmly on his back. Fili had a sly grin on his face as he swung his legs behind him absently.

“She wants to know more about me before she gets here. And she made mention that you told her about myself and your uncle.” Bilbo raised an accusatory eyebrow at Fili. He rolled his eyes in a way to try and throw off the accusation.

“Maybe.”

“Did you add that bit after you read me your letter than or was that a separate letter you sent her?” Fili continued to swing his legs slowly behind him. He refused to look directly at Bilbo like if he did he would be admitting guilt.

“Maybe it was Kili?” Fili supplied. Bilbo smiled and gave a chuckle at that. Fili finally held his gaze once Bilbo had softened his glare.

“I would have preferred to be the one to tell her, preferably when she got here herself.” Fili leaned over to his side, holding Bilbo’s attention.

“You’ll basically be married by the time she gets here. She’ll miss all the good stuff.” Fili whined. He put his legs down and laid naturally on the cot.

“Not if I can’t figure out what Thorin could give me that would prove he would be a good – “ Bilbo cut himself out. He still couldn’t bring himself to say spouse. His throat closed up and his chest got heavy. His face got hot and he knew he was blushing fiercely. “You know.” Bilbo made a motion with his hands to try and distract Fili from his blushing face.

“Well what is it you miss?” Bilbo looked at Fili with a calmness he hadn’t been expecting. Fili looked at him like it was the most obvious thing in the world. While he had been mostly accustomed to life in the mountain, finding substitutes for the things he used to do in the Shire, but some things couldn’t me replicated within a mountain. Bilbo missed his pipe weed, a nice smoke of Old Toby as he watched the sun set in his front yard. He missed his garden. He missed smelling freshly cut tomato leaves that stained his hands with their scent. He missed pushing soil around with his hands to cover a freshly planted shrub. He missed smelling fresh roses after they had bloomed.

“I miss my garden. I miss growing things.” Bilbo finally responded honestly. Fili shrugged his shoulders.

“Maybe you should tell Thorin that.” Bilbo wanted to smack Fili for making the last week of his life seem completely wasted. Instead Bilbo put his hand out and grabbed at Fili’s forearm.

“Thank you, Fili.” Bilbo put his hand back on his cot and pulled the blanket closer to his chin.

“Sure thing.” Fili leaned over closer to Bilbo. “Does this mean I get to call you uncle now?” Bilbo blushed again and shoved Fili’s face back to his side.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself.” Bilbo rolled over so his back was to Fili.

“Okay, uncle Boggins.” Bilbo turned around in a flash.

“Now, you listen here!” Fili was too busy laughing to listen to anything that Bilbo was actually saying to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a run for his mountain - a dwarvish idiom i just made up because I can do that. (a run for their money in you know english or whatever)  
> [Here's the playlist for this story that nobody asked for](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5KufGWNRzpMLLBnhbFQZF9)


	11. Midnight Explorations of Feelings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a little later than usual I fell into a really depressive episode after receiving some bad news all around and haven't felt like writing, but I'm feeling an upswing so here comes another round of several chapters for both FSG and PotR. My plan is to have this story done by the time I start school which is August (fingers crossed) which I'm hoping will be a nice 20 chapters and maybe some side stories because I want to write a story about the day at Beorn's gardens and a few other things probably. But those will be one shots attached to this series, so those I can take my time with.

Bilbo waited until he heard the sound of Fili and Kili snoring next to him before he barely managed to slip out of the blankets. He looked around to see if anyone was disturbed by the noises he was making as he sat up and took in the sight of the sleeping persons around him. He saw who he thought was Nori turn noisily in his cot, but otherwise no one moved. Bilbo was careful to extract himself from his cot and tip toe through the sporadically placed cots throughout the large room. Bilbo looked for the open eyes of anyone who had woken up, but he had managed to get through the room without anyone waking up. Bilbo squinted in the nearly pitch black hallways of the mountain. He was using the memory of having been down to see Thorin several times rather than actually being able to see where he was going. He held his hands out in case he went too far in one direction and ran into the wall. He was careful not to go too fast or else he would fall off the platforms in some cases. He saw some lights up ahead from the other room full of sleeping individuals. He could hear a few hushed voices in the otherwise quiet room. There were two small children huddled around a dim lantern. They turned when they heard Bilbo off to their side. He held up his finger to his lips, he doubted that they could even see him in such a dark room, but he did his best. Bilbo continued on and the children resumed their quiet talking once he had left the area. He kept going using his memory and hands to guide him. He made a few turns before he thought he saw some more lights further down the hallway.

Bilbo’s heart stopped when his foot didn’t connect with the stone with his next step. He took a moment to regain his composure as he remembered that there was a small flight of stairs that he had to get down. He took a deep breath and reached his foot down again hesitantly. His toes were met with solid stone and he continued down the stairs, the light getting more noticeable and he could see the last of the stairs from the lanterns. Bilbo wasn’t sure how he was going to get past the guards, or if they would even let him past. He sent up a silent prayer to nobody in particular that the doors to Thorin’s room would be unguarded. He had gotten much less violent in the last couple days, being so close to Bilbo seemed to be the balm that his mind needed. Bilbo let out an audible sigh of relief as he could see the doors down the end of the hall and there were no guards posted outside. He wondered if they didn’t do a night shift or if Balin had retired the need for guards as Thorin’s condition improved. Whatever the reason Bilbo gladly walked into the light of the hallway and strode towards the door with a glee he hadn’t been expecting. He was normally happy to spend time with Thorin, but now his hands started to get clammy and he was finding it hard to keep a smile off his face. He reached out and his breath was caught in his throat as he grabbed the massive door’s handle. He took a few deep breaths to try and calm his racing heart.

This time is different. They would begin officially courting. Bilbo had the final piece to enact the future they had been working towards together. No longer as burglar and king but as king and consort. Bilbo guessed Thorin wouldn’t change all that much, but it was going to be a very different kind of situation for himself. He would have to learn dwarf customs and what to do during court and how to represent himself as a consort. On top of working through his home in the Shire, lest it fall into hands of his relatives while he still lived and breathed. His hand was stalled on the door handle for longer than he had anticipated before he broke from his introspection and carefully pushed the door open. Light crept into the darkened room as he opened the door just enough to sneak himself in. He shut the door as quietly as he could behind him and stood staring into the darkness while his eyes adjusted. He could just barely make out the edge of the bed where Thorin was presumably sleeping. He was careful to remain quiet as he walked forward towards the bed. He could see the dark mass that was Thorin sprawled out on his back on the bed. He thought he could hear faint snoring, how the king slept in a bed was very different to the way that he slept on the road. Now he could afford himself a much deeper sleep and to lay in a haphazard fashion. Bilbo reached the edge of the bed and silently reached out to brush some hair behind Thorin’s ears.

Thankfully he was sitting back as Thorin shot up in a daze and looked around the dark room. Finally his eyes focused on Bilbo and after a moment to distinguish that he wasn’t in any danger he seemed to recognize Bilbo standing at the edge of his bed. Bilbo still had his hand on Thorin’s cheek and he could feel the muscles in his face move into a smile. Thorin reached out and wrapped Bilbo into a hug, pulling him back to lay on the bed. Bilbo gave a soft chuckle as he wrapped his arms around Thorin’s neck to embrace the fall. His face met Thorin’s newly scarred chest. He could hear Thorin’s heart against his cheek.

“ _Nungbâha_ , you scared me. What are you doing here, _'ubnabunê kurdû_?” He could hear the way Thorin’s voice reverberated through his chest and ribs before he heard it in his ears. The sound of Thorin using Khuzdul made Bilbo’s face go hot. He usually reserved it for talking with the company, so it made him feel especially tingly when Thorin used it around him and directed at him. Thorin loosened his hold and Bilbo was able to sit up to look at Thorin’s face. He could barely see it in darkness, but he could make out the hint of Thorin’s nose and the start of his eyes as they searched his face.

“I miss gardening.” Bilbo was so overcome with the excitement of being near Thorin and finally coming up with some way for Thorin to prove that he would be a substantial partner so long as they both agreed on the engagement. Bilbo still wasn’t completely convinced he wasn’t trying to be bought from the Shire and made to stay within Erebor, but the feeling had lessened as he thought about the life he would have returned to in the Shire versus the life he had here in Erebor. He couldn’t see Thorin’s face, but he could almost feel the confusion coming off of him in waves. They sat in silence staring at each other for a moment before Bilbo spoke up again. “I would like if I could garden again for myself and grow food like I used to do in the Shire.” Bilbo continued to stare at Thorin as he returned the gesture. Bilbo had a hard time picking out the nuances in Thorin’s face as he took in the information, but he could still feel the excitement course through his veins making him restless.

“I think I can make that work, _mirlalamê._ ” Thorin reached up and gently pressed his forehead to Bilbo’s. He could feel Thorin’s breath on his lips and he let out a sigh at the contact. “Is that all you came down here to tell me?” One of Thorin’s hands moved to cradle the back of his neck and the other moved down to rest on his lower back. Bilbo leaned forward slightly to brush his nose against Thorin’s. His eyes shut to take in the feeling of being held by Thorin. He felt the arm Thorin had on his lower back grab at the tunic he had designated as his night clothes.

“For the most part.” Bilbo responded in the same quiet tone that Thorin had asked him in. The hand on the nape of his neck started to play with the baby hairs there. Bilbo hummed in the back of his throat at the feeling. “But I’m not in any rush to leave if that’s what you’re asking.” Bilbo moved his thumb to caress the apple of Thorin’s cheek. He leaned forward ever slightly until he could just feel the skin of Thorin’s lips. Thorin stilled at the action, doing his best impersonation of a rock at the moment. When Bilbo didn’t move away, he felt Thorin soften and Thorin’s lips moved into a smile against his lips. Bilbo leaned in the rest of the way to press his lips completely to Thorin’s. They sat like that for a long while, wrapped up in each other’s embrace softly kissing in the darkness, every touch sending sharp bolts of electricity along Bilbo’s skin. The lack of sight heightened the intensity of the feather-light touches that Thorin was leaving over his entire body. After a few moments that seemed to drag on forever, they broke apart to catch their breaths.

“Will you stay?” Bilbo tilted his head to try and see if he could catch Thorin’s eyes in the dark. He saw a faint sparkle and gave an earnest smile.

“I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be.” Bilbo felt Thorin’s arms tighten against him and he gave in to the motion, resting his head on Thorin’s chest. He could feel Thorin’s heart beating against his cheek as he adjusted himself into a more comfortable position. It felt like there was an oppressive nature that seemed to lift from the room. It didn’t take long until Bilbo felt the his consciousness slip from the world of the waking and he was consumed with sleep.

xXx

Bilbo was barely aware that there was a noise in the room that startled him awake. It was still mostly dark, but he could tell there was a light coming from somewhere. He buried his face deeper into his blanket when he realized that the blanket wasn’t a blanket at all. Bilbo cracked his eyes open to see that there was a body in front of him. He could feel arms wrapped around him and his legs were tangled in the blankets of the bed. He also knew very well that he was not in the cot in the grand hall. Unwilling to want to leave the embrace he was in, he nudged his nose into the furred chest that he was laying with.

“ _A'Lâz ud' azluf_.” Came the familiar voice of Balin. Bilbo frowned at the thought that he wouldn’t be able to continue his current course of action. He heard Thorin groan and turn his head in Balin’s direction.

“ _Inkhirrukîmâ_.” Thorin turned back to Bilbo and he could see that Thorin had closed his eyes again.

“ _Mâ_?” Balin sounded a little closer than before. The light had gotten brighter and Bilbo thought he smelt smoke from a match. Bilbo dared to poke his head up from Thorin’s chest and saw Balin had lit the candle on Thorin’s desk and was walking towards both of them. “Oh, Bilbo, I didn’t see you there.” Once Balin noticed the smaller creature was wrapped up in the sheets along with Thorin, he took several steps back to stand next to the other desk in the room. Bilbo was still slightly foggy from having been woken up only moments ago, so he refrained from answering.

“What Balin?” Thorin’s sleep ridden voice made Bilbo’s stomach flip. Thorin reluctantly let go of him and Bilbo was left staring at the solid muscle of Thorin’s back. He decided he probably wasn’t going to get anymore sleep and sat up.

“Well, this saves me a trip at least.” Balin started out as he took in Bilbo’s stretching form. “I think it’s time you rejoined the rest of the company in the mountain.” Bilbo turned his head sharply. That would mean that they could officially begin courting. The thought of so many eyes prying into his personal life was slightly startling, but his heart leapt in his throat that they would be able to solidify their relationship. “Oin has reviewed your condition with myself and we’ve agreed that you seem able to take over for Fili and return as King Under the Mountain.” Bilbo was excited to hear that Fili would be able to go back to a less demanding task for the mountain as the stress of dealing with setting up an entire civilization within the halls of a ruined mountain was probably weighing him down. He was a little worried that Fili would use the time to get up to mischief with his brother though. Bilbo didn’t think that the mountain was ready for the reintroduction of Fili and Kili tormenting the living daylights out of now three whole groups of people within the mountain. He hoped that this might mean that Balin was close to figuring out how to get to the library where he and Ori could search for texts on One courtings.

“That’s excellent news.” Thorin said as he moved to sit at the edge of the bed. He looked behind him at Bilbo’s waking status. “I’d like to get started setting up plans for the wedding as quickly as possible.” Bilbo could resist the rosy dusting that rose in his face at Thorin’s words. He opened his mouth to reply, but found that he had nothing to say and quickly closed it.

“There’s other things that will be needing attending too as well.” Balin raised an eyebrow at Thorin who was willingly ignoring him to admire the way Bilbo’s face was still flushed. “Come along now, we have meetings to attend and I’m sure Fili would be glad for the welcome break.” Thorin turned back to Balin and Bilbo was finally able to get control over his face. Balin and Thorin continued to talk while Bilbo got up, stretching to loosen up his body from having spent so long in one position. Finally he realized that Balin had left the room when Thorin had made his way over to Bilbo and wrapped his arms around the hobbit. Bilbo wasn’t sure he’d ever get enough of the way he felt being held so close to Thorin. Thorin kissed the top of his head and Bilbo just wanted to sit in his embrace for the rest of the day, learning every plane of his body and everywhere that made the dwarf squirm. Alas he knew that Balin had made some valid points. He was sure that the company had missed their leader and especially Fili and Kili. It had been several weeks since Fili and Kili had seen their uncle since their last supervised meeting. Bilbo was sure they would be just as excited to see that Thorin was in a much better state than when they had last spent time with him.

“I have to go get changed into my clothes back at my cot.” Bilbo pulled away reluctantly from Thorin’s embrace. Thorin looked at him with a down-turned expression, as if the thought of Bilbo leaving his side was the most disastrous thing anyone had ever prompted.

“I guess it would be ill fitting to have you sit in during meetings in just your tunic.” Even though his words sounded remorseful, the dark look in his eyes negated anything he just said and sent a shiver down Bilbo’s spine. Bilbo bit the inside of his cheek to keep from disagreeing with the whole thing and seeing if the doors to Thorin’s room locked from the inside as well. He shook his head of the images that were conjured in his mind and took a step back from Thorin, so he couldn’t convince him otherwise if he just took him back into his arms.

“I’ll see you shortly.” Bilbo pointed a finger at him as he watched Thorin’s face break out into a small smile. “And then I will sit and listen to Thranduil drone about technicalities all day long with you.” Even the mention of Thranduil wasn’t able to rid the smile from Thorin’s face. Thorin moved in a split second and pulled Bilbo into an overwhelming kiss. Bilbo felt his limbs go weak as he returned the kiss. After a moment that was much quicker than it had initially felt, Thorin pulled away with a toothy grin before letting Bilbo go. “You need to stop being so good at that, so it’s easier to get things done throughout the day.” Bilbo blinked a few times before he was able to make his way to the large bedroom doors as Thorin’s laugh echoed in the mostly empty room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The ending of this is completely different than I was originally planning because i stopped writing half way through to start and finish a completely different story and lost my train of thought for this one so i do apologize for that. Sometimes my ADHD wants to watch me burn  
> No one asked but I'll probably be putting updates on my tumblr. You can follow me at my tumblr for my AO3 stuff and updates and just generally things related to my stories: bag-my-oak-hole.tumblr.com  
> Nungbâha - loveable idiot (I tried to look for dearest and thats what it gave me so...that what he gets)  
> 'Ubnabunê kurdû - tiny gem of my heart  
> Mirlalamê - direct translation is lovingly mine but kind of a more round about way of my love  
> A'Lâz ud' azluf - Wake up  
> Inkhirrukîmâ - Leave us (accept leave isn't a word to them i guess so it says abandon us)  
> Mâ - us?


	12. The Welcoming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank Pyre for this chapter. He pressured me into posting a new chapter. He also made lovely art for the first chapter which I will link into the first chapter, but I will also put it https://tookofabaggins.tumblr.com/post/640148409701023744/he-set-bilbo-down-on-the-pile-of-gold-where. Please go check it out and give it some love! Pyre did such a good job.

Bilbo slipped into the impromptu conference tent that they were using for meetings. Fili was talking about trade or timelines and didn’t notice when Bilbo arrived. Thranduil’s eyes were the only ones who even took stock of his arrival. His head in his hands as he listened to Fili. He had the air of someone who would rather be anywhere other than here. Bilbo kept his face neutral as he sat down in one of the free chairs. Thranduil went back to looking at Fili once Bilbo had sat down. After a few more minutes the cloth of the tent moved again and Thranduil was the first to stand, Dain and Bard doing so shortly after as they followed Thranduil’s eyes. Fili was the last to stand up as he looked around before turning and seeing Thorin walk into the tent.

He barely had time to think before he was rushing forward to give his uncle a hug. Bilbo watch as Dain’s face lit up at the sight and he looked ready to grab the other king in a large embrace as well. Bard looked relieved, but not overly happy like Thorin’s kin. Thranduil wasn’t happy but wasn’t unhappy. He looked pensive if anything. Bilbo could only guess what was going through his mind then. Once Fili was done with his hug, Dain gave Thorin a crack of the head like he had seen Dwalin do to Balin when they first met. Thorin didn’t look phased in the slightest. Bard had a similar face as to Bilbo when he first saw the display.

“Cousin! You live!” Thorin had a serene smile on his face as he looked at his kin. Fili looked beyond happy, but he could see relief in his expression. He wasn’t sure how much of it was relief in seeing his uncle or relief that he wouldn’t have to be king just yet.

“Just barely yet.” Fili and Dain sat back down in their seats. Thranduil and Bard both had similar expressions on their face although Bard looked much more empathetic in his approach. Thorin turned slightly and motioned to Balin who was standing with his hands clasped in front of him by the door. Balin turned and spoke to someone just beyond the tent. When he turned back a dwarf walked forward through the tent holding something on a pillow in his hands. Thranduil stepped forward with a thinly veiled look of shock in his face. Bilbo couldn’t help but notice the way Bard’s hand moved at his hip towards Thranduil. Bilbo wondered how long after his own wedding would Bard send invitation to his own.

“Thorin – “Thorin held up his hand as he looked with clear eyes at Bard. Bilbo felt something swell in his chest at seeing those sapphire blue eyes look around with such clarity.

“I owe these to the king of the woodland realm.” Thranduil did not appear to have been anticipating that outcome. He moved his eyes from Thorin to the gems on the pillow next to him. “These belong to you and they should have been given back the first chance I could, but I was ill and foolish. Please have these back and more will be sent to your kingdom once it can be arranged. The help you have provided not only the dwarves of these halls but all the sick and injured is more than I could ever repay you.” Thorin was able to say all of this without sneering once. Bilbo couldn’t help but smile a little with pride at the dwarf in front of him. The dwarf who had brought in the gems walked around to stand in front of Thranduil. The elf king reached down and looked at the gems with a mixture of sadness and disinterest.

“Thank you.” Was all Thranduil was able to get out as he took the gems in his hands. The dwarf in front of him hurried out of the tent. Thorin turned to Bard and placed a fist over his heart, crossing over his chest. He gave a small bow of his head.

“I have done your people a great disservice and I can only hope to repay you for the hurt I have caused, for that, any funds you will need to rebuild Dale you can count on the kingdom of Erebor to help you.” Bard stiffened a little before he gave Thorin a small nod of his head. “All that is owed to you will be given and more.” Bilbo watched as Thranduil and Bard seemed to be in a permanent state of shock. Thorin reached forward and grabbed Fili’s shoulder. “Now if you don’t mind, I think a break is in order.” Thorin gave his nephew a knowing look and Fili gave a sly smile before they both looked back at Bilbo. Bilbo scrunched up his face in confusion at the faces turned on him. Dain, Bard, and Thranduil didn’t seem to have any qualms as Thorin turned to make a motion with his head to Balin. Balin walked over to Bilbo and ushered him up. Bilbo was still wildly confused as he was poked and rushed out of the tent, Fili joining in the pushing. They shoved Bilbo out of the tent, but before they could get too far, they had stopped to tie something around Bilbo’s eyes.

“This seems a little much, how am I going to walk?” Thorin chuckled in his ear. There were hands on his shoulders, and someone had his hand guiding him. They were silent as they led Bilbo through the maze of the mountain. He was a little perturbed as to the sudden interest in hiding where they were leading him unless this was some sort of dwarf custom he didn’t know about. After what felt like an eternity they finally stopped, and Bilbo ran into the dwarf in front of him. He hoped it was Thorin. Someone behind him removed the blindfold and Bilbo was relieved to see that Thorin was standing in front of him, looking him in the eye. Bilbo was still so unused to the act of Thorin being so openly affectionate as the king held onto his hand before turning and Bilbo nearly cried at the sight. The whole company were beaming at Bilbo as Thorin stepped back to stand next to Bilbo. They were all crowded around a table with a single item on it.

“ _Gamut dolekmanan_!” They all yelled. Bilbo had no idea what they had just screamed at him, but from the sight of the sweet dessert on the table he think he could guess. He quickly wiped at his face as he felt tears spill from his eyes as he took in the setting. Everyone in the company had broad smiles on their faces as they took in Bilbo’s appearance.

“I didn’t even get you guys anything.” Bilbo groaned through his tears. He felt laughter bubble out of his lips as he got his words out. The faces of the company twisting in confusion.

“What?” Bofur spoke up first.

“It’s custom in the Shire to give gifts on one’s birthday.” The whole company seemed to go through the same confusion as they stared at Bilbo. Bilbo shrugged as he took deep breaths to calm himself. “I guess I can make this exception.” Bilbo stepped forward and Kili was holding out a fork for him eagerly in both hands. “How did you managed to get the ingredients for this?” Bilbo sat down at the large table and everyone seemed to join him. Fili and Kili plastered to his sides as he used the fork to take his first bite.

“Don’t ask.” Bombur piped up. The rest of the company let out a chuckle before Bilbo took his first bite of cake since his dinner with Thranduil all those months ago. He groaned as the sweet taste hit his tongue and he nearly started crying anew.

“How is it?” Nori looked with his one good eye at the dessert. He looked ready to reach out and take some for himself. The cake was large, large enough that Bilbo knew despite his appetite that he would be sick if he ate the whole thing.

“It’s delicious thank you. This is really more than you guys had to do.” There was a chorus of grumbles that sounded at his little speech.

“It’s the least we could do for missing your birthday, Bilbo.” Ori looked at him from across the table. He had recently been able to walk around and about without his cane, but it was still strapped to his back like the swords he had become so accustomed to on this trip. Bilbo looked around at everyone feeling tears well up in his eyes again. He was lucky that his dwarves had been only been injured and that he wouldn’t have to find a place to bury them when spring came. He covered his face with his hands as he held back his tears suddenly overcome with emotion for the twelve dwarves around him. There was a feeling of confusion and shock as Bilbo ducked his head, taking deep breath into his hands.

“Being here is the best gift.” A few people groaned at the line, Kili was in tears and reaching out to hold Bilbo. It knocked him into his brother who quickly joined in the crushing hug, he could feel tears on both of his shoulders.

“The best treasure in this whole mountain is our very own hobbit.” Kili wailed into Bilbo’s shoulder. Bilbo set his fork down and pat him on the head.

“Oh hush, now. You make it sound like I’m leaving.” He saw a twinkle in Dwalin’s eye at his comment, but he didn’t say anything out loud. Kili looked up at Bilbo with a fearful look in his teary eyes. “I’m not leaving.” Bilbo said with a conviction he didn’t know he had. Up until recently he didn’t even know if that statement would remain true but staring at the dwarves around him knew that his family was here. There was nothing in the Shire waiting for him except an empty pantry and a cold hearth. He’d go back. Eventually. This time in better terms than he had left. But he knew he couldn’t stay.

After a moment, Kili had loosened his grip and wiped at his face to rid the tears streaming into his growing beard. Fili lifted from him shortly after but kept an arm around his shoulder. Bilbo could still feel Thorin’s presence behind him as he reached out to take another bite of the cake.

“Are you just going to stare at me or are you going to enjoy some of the dish you made for me?” By the time he finished everyone had pulled out a fork or spoon to dig into the cake. The sight had Bilbo laughing as they all set about polishing off the cake. It wasn’t a grand party and the Party Tree, but he felt more care and love here than he did at any Party Tree event.

xXx

After they had cleaned off the cake everyone sat around stewing in their post cake euphoria. There weren’t even any crumbs left on the large platter that they had put it into. It would be some time before Bilbo would probably be able to enjoy something like that. He felt his eyes attempt to drift close, but he fought to keep them open. It was only midday and there was still so much work to do. Bilbo was sitting with his head on his fist as he listened to Nori and Dwalin bicker with the occasional interjection from Bofur. Thorin had been called out to deal with the other kings of the mountain. Balin was asleep leaning against an aptly shaped piece of rubble.

Ori had gone off on his own, he thought he heard him say that he was due at the battlements to begin vigil. Bilbo could feel a chill come over his body as he sat there listening to the sounds around him. Even though there was a distinct bite from the midwinter weather he was content and seemed to exude a warmth the seemed to reach out and touch everyone in the area. A snore from Kili beside him startled him from his reverie. The sound seemed to wake up Fili too who jumped a bit from where he was sleeping on his arms across the table. His hair was in disarray as he lifted his head and looked around. Bilbo chuckled as Fili picked hair out of his mouth as he yawned. He looked over at Bilbo confused.

“Wha – “he attempted but was interrupted by another yawn. Bilbo gave a small smile as he took in the scene. “What happened?” Fili finally worked out. Bilbo pointed to Kili beside him who was laying along the bench of the table, his hair splayed everywhere as he let out another loud snore. “Hm.” Fili stretched as he looked around.

“So how did you enjoy your taste of being king?” Bilbo started. Fili rubbed the back of his neck, but Bilbo didn’t think it was because he had hurt himself from the way he was laying. He had a twisted expression on his face as he thought of his answer.

“It was something.” Fili moved his hand and ran a hand through his hair. “How’s courting a king?” Fili smirked, his fingers catching on the knots in his hair. His face would make a funny twitch when he caught a particularly stubborn one.

“Not what I was expecting.” Bilbo said honestly. Fili pulled his hand back, his fingers tangled in with stray strands of hair he had managed to pull out of his head. “I wonder if all kings are this complicated?” Bilbo hummed good naturedly. Fili was picking hair from his fingers and making a disgruntled face at the loss of hair.

“I don’t think you could live long enough to answer that question.” Bilbo laughed softly and he saw Fili’s own smirk. Fili continued to run his fingers through his hair, gathering a neat little pile of hairs onto the table. The golden color standing out stark against the dull stone color of the table. Bilbo could barely call it a table; it was more likely a very carefully carved piece of rubble. The twin braids that were usually adorning Fili’s chin were instead were tightly braided into several little braids that seemed to be fraying at the edges. Bilbo could only guess the tugging and pulling that braiding a beard into those fine lines probably entailed. Fili reached up, feeling at the frayed ends of the beard braids. He groaned a little as he started to detangle them with his fingers.

“Can you show me?” Bilbo pointed to the current mess that was Fili’s nearly undone braids. Fili stopped halfway through. His eyes went wide a second before he went back to digging at his beard. Bilbo watched him while he waited for an answer. Fili got his beard taken out before he attempted to answer Bilbo. He leaned in a little, Bilbo finding it interesting to see the way Fili’s face seemed to fill out when his beard wasn’t done up in braids.

“Usually, braiding is only done between family or courting couples.” Bilbo could see a faint blush at the tip of Fili’s nose. Bilbo was about to speak when Fili shook his head at him. “But seeing as you will be family relatively shortly, I’m sure we can make an exception.” Fili pulled back a little, running his hands over the freshly undone braids. “But we won’t practice on my beard. We can do something with my hair.” Bilbo turned more fully to face Fili. Bilbo had his hands in his lap waiting patiently for Fili to begin his minilecture. Fili set about parting his hair to one side before he grabbed a few strands in his hand to show Bilbo. Bilbo watched as his fingers made a few movements over and over again before he finished the small braid on the side of his head. Bilbo watched as Fili undid the braid and offered a segment of hair out to him.

“You’re going to want to get a few even strands, depending on the kind of braid. We’ll start with three.” Bilbo reached out and took the few strands of hair carefully into his hands. “You’re going to want to alternate as you go, and we’ll worry about presentation at a later date.” Fili looked through the corner of his eye as he watched Bilbo carefully cross the strands over one another. After a minute he had a single strand of hair in his hand. It wasn’t nearly as good as the dwarves around him, but it was a first attempt, and he would stand by it. “Not too bad, but you’re going to want to be consistent with your alternating.” Bilbo dropped the strand and it instantly fell back to being segmented hair next to his ear.

“Okay.” Bilbo was enthralled with the way Fili wove his fingers through his hair to make another braid, this one in the same fashion that Bilbo had attempted his.

“Try with a little bit of force this time, you can pull a bit on my hair, just not too much.” Bilbo traded hands so that he was now taking over for Fili. He pulled a little while he worked, and Bilbo watched his face for any signs that he was in pain. Despite his concern his face managed to stay neutral the entire time Bilbo was working on the braid. Bilbo found his tongue worming his way through his teeth as he focused in concentration on the braid in his hands. Once he finished, he held it out for inspection by Fili. Fili took a look and gave a smile. “Much better.” There was a clatter next to Fili and Bilbo and they turned to see Dori dropping a platter of tea on the table.

“When did we decide to finally teach Bilbo to braid?” He huffed as he moved to sit on the other side of Fili. A hush fell over the group of who was left after their little gathering. All eyes turned to Bilbo as he dropped Fili’s hair, the braid only coming halfway undone as he did so. Everyone moved closer to them as they took in the scene.

“He asked me.” Dori threw up his hands and crossed his arms at Fili’s answer. Bilbo could tell there wasn’t any actual hurt in the gesture, but he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt and embarrassment at seemingly turning something so simple as moving hair into an entire ordeal. There was some shifting behind Bilbo and Bofur had moved over to push Kili either off the bench or further down, he wasn’t sure because Kili woke up abruptly at having been touched sending himself to the ground either way. Kili looked up and around and saw the scene in front of him with still sleep crusted eyes. He stared at the attempted braid in Fili’s hair for a long moment before he shook his head a bit.

“What’s goin’ ‘un?” He said through a yawn as he scrambled back up onto the bench.

“Fili’s teaching Bilbo how to braid.” Dori still sounded a little burnt when he explained to Kili. He started about making tea for the few people who enjoyed it. When he set Bilbo’s down, he was gentle and made no indication that he was holding a grudge against Bilbo for asking Fili instead of him who had been asking for weeks to teach Bilbo how to braid his growing hair. Bilbo took a sip of his tea, relishing in the taste. He didn’t have the sugar he usually put into his tea, but the elves had managed to bring over some cream since the weather was cold enough to keep it fresh.

“Is this because Bilbo’s been officially announced dwarf-friend?” All eyes turned to Kili. He stared at everyone in confusion. No one said anything to deny him as their eyes looked around the group wondering who would be the one to tell him.

“Yeah Kili.” Fili dared speak up before they went back to teaching Bilbo how to braid. Everyone had their own personal style, but Bilbo found the most basic way to do a small braid. Eventually he had a few braids in his own hair and had even attempted to put a braid in Kili’s hair. The young dwarf’s hair was thicker than Fili’s, so he found that it was harder to keep it in place. When he offered to braid in Bofur’s hair, Bofur blushed from head to toe and Nori and Bifur ribbed into him. Bilbo didn’t fully understand the importance of hair in dwarven culture, but from both Fili and Bofur’s responses he thought he could find an apt comparison. By the time he had a confident grasp on how the braiding worked for a basic braid Thorin had returned, looking more haggard than when he left. Thorin took a look around at the group as they were comparing braiding styles and sharing their tricks as Bilbo toyed with a braid Fili had placed by his ear.

“Thorin.” Bilbo turned to see him; his eyes bright as he took in the state of his king. He had a blank expression on his face as the rest of the group fell quickly into silence. They all shifted awkwardly as they noticed the arrival of their king. “Fili showed me how to braid.” He held out the braid next to his ear. Thorin reached out and took a look at it in the dim light of the torches. “I didn’t do this one, mine are nowhere near that good yet.” Thorin ran the hair between his fingers as he inspected the strand.

“Fili did this one?” Bilbo looked between the strand in Thorin’s fingers and Thorin’s eyes. They were still blank as he looked at the braid.

“Yes.” As he answered a little tentatively as he took in the stoic expression on Thorin’s face. Thorin’s eyes moved from the braid to meet Bilbo’s and he could see crows’ feet start on the edges of his eyes as his face broke out into a toothy smile. He could hear everyone behind him let out a collective sigh at the sight.

“You could practice more on my hair if you’d like. I’m sure Fili did just fine teaching you.” Thorin looked over Bilbo’s shoulder and gave his nephew a fond look. Fili’s hair had been reorganized while he had given his impromptu lesson in hair braiding to Bilbo. “Come now, tomorrow there will be plenty of work to be done.” He addressed everyone before he set the braid back on the side of Bilbo’s face and returned his warm gaze to Bilbo’s eyes. Bilbo gave a small smile at seeing the king he traveled all over Arda with. He looked tired, but he didn’t look at all the way he looked when he first stepped into this mountain. With the drag of the dragon’s talons only puncturing Thorin’s sanity. He hoped that the wounds were not so deep as to leave scars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gamut dolekmanan - literally means 'wonderful gift day' I did not feel like dealing with the translator so I found a little cheat sheet from lotro  
> Next chapter will be a bit of a time skip. I want Dis to meet Bilbo dammit. Sue me.


End file.
